A workshop held by BBC Media Action in Nairobi to support local radio stations to produce programmes that integrate key hygiene-promotion messages
English
SWIFT’s local radio station partners are introduced to BBC Media Action’s toolkit, ‘The Pulse’ , which includes handbooks, training activities and frameworks
BBC Media Action mentors local radio station partners to produce engaging and memorable programmes and public service announcements
The local radio stations in Kenya being mentored by BBC Media Action to develop engaging, compelling and memorable content have begun broadcasting their WASH programmes and public service announcements.
The programmes, which integrate key hygiene-promotion messages, have been branded and given dedicated, regular time slots for broadcast, making them recognisable and easier to access by listeners. They range from ‘Hygiene this week’ in Swahili to ‘Be identified with cleanliness’ in Borana, and you can listen to them at https://soundcloud.com/washprojects2015.
BBC Media Action presented the findings of its formative research into WASH at a Technical Advisory Group meeting in the summer. The research was carried out in order to understand the information needs, knowledge levels and existing attitudes and barriers to the adoption of WASH practices among target communities. The report was reviewed by the Nairobi and London-based project team before presentation, as well as by BBC Media Action’s Research and Learning and Policy teams.
Public Service Announcements and ‘The Pulse’
At the same meeting, SWIFT Consortium partners listened to the pilot Public Service Announcements produced by BBC Media Action’s Nairobi-based radio partners Koch and Mtaani FM. Oxfam, Practical Action, Sanergy and WSUP provided feedback to ensure the content produced by the radio stations is accurate and contextually relevant to target audiences.
BBC Media Action has developed a toolkit called ‘The Pulse’, which is being used to inspire health communication and help plan creative media programmes and communication activities that improve people’s health. It includes handbooks, training activities and frameworks which cover all the main steps needed to plan and design a project and put it into action. SWIFT radio and Consortium partners were introduced to this toolkit at a workshop held in February.
Mitigating challenges and sharing learning
BBC Media Action had been experiencing some challenges with one of its partner radio stations, as a result of high staff turnover and the low capacity of field reporters engaged in the SWIFT project, which were resulting in delays to the production and broadcast of WASH content. To mitigate these challenges, a ‘creative radio workshop’ was held in June that was attended by the two Nairobi-based radio station partners, and additional staff have now been assigned to work on the SWIFT project at the station in question.
BBC Media Action held a half-day workshop at the WEDC conference in Loughborough in July on ‘Media, communication and WASH-related behaviour change’. The event used a mixture of active learning, video and presentations to help participants better integrate media and communication behaviour change approaches into their work. It was aimed at practitioners involved in WASH interventions that require community/society behavioural and norm change to ensure success, as well as at those with a particular interest in using media and communication to change behaviour.
