1. My Water—My Community: The
Story of Our Water is a transmedia be-
havior change program which leverages
the power of storytelling across multi-
ple communications platforms to gen-
erate awareness and motivate social
change. PCI-Media Impact and USAID
are producing Sed de Ti, a 90-episode
Entertainment-Education radio drama
to address water protection and man-
agement and gender equality across
four regions of Peru (Lima Norte, Piura,
Cusco, Loreto).
PCI-Media Impact and partners
have been gathering information about
the capacity and the needs of the com-
munity through a comprehensive pro-
cess of formative research. We con-
ducted workshops in each of the regions
to provide the coalitions with training on
“Communications for Development” as
well as essential background on the
challenges of water resource manage-
ment, hygiene and sanitation. The pro-
gram targets beneficiaries at two levels:
the community coalitions developing
the campaigns as well as the listeners
and the population at large, which the
program aims to reach across targeted
regions.
Four regional coalitions will
broadcast the radio drama, host region-
al call-in shows and implement tailored
Community Mobilization Campaigns.
Stay tuned as Sed de Ti will hit the air-
ways this summer!
Here’s an update of
what’s happening at
PCI-Media Impact. In
this issue we’re sharing
voices from the field.
Water & Sanitation in Peru
Spring 2013
2. Primary schools across St. Lu-
cia are bubbling with excitement after
a visit from a White-Breasted Thrasher,
Iguana, Coral and “Tin Tin.” These vis-
its represent one of a series of activities
that are part of our My Island-My Com-
munity program.
The students played and sang
with the mascots and asked a number
of questions, as part of a campaign to
raise awareness about the important
role that nature plays in protecting the
community from climate change.The vi-
brant mascots and students also danced
to a specially produced theme song and
local experts shared information about
the need to preserve local mangrove
and watershed areas.
Secondary school students were
in awe when popular recording musi-
cians from St. Lucia performed at their
schools. Addressing climate change
and biodiversity through their music, the
local celebrities performed their popular
songs.
In order to effectively address
the climate change issues, with the ap-
propriate level of knowledge and cultur-
al sensitivity, the musicians attended a
half-day seminar, which was conducted
by the coalition agencies and the Or-
ganisation of Eastern Caribbean States
(OECS) Secretariat. This comprehen-
sive coalition of over 10 organizations
has come together to raise awareness
and to promote tangible action to ac-
celerate adaptive measures that can
reduce St Lucia’s vulnerability to the ef-
fects of climate change.
Building upon our on-air 130
episode radio novella, Callaloo, these
activities are inspiring and encouraging
communities to take individual and col-
lective actions. The school visits will cul-
minate in a community cleanup of the
Mankòtè Mangrove later in the year.
School Visits & More Drama in the Caribbean
“In primary schools
children are known to react
positively to a mascot
costume and hands-on
activities. In secondary
schools the visiting team
adopted a different
approach where popular
musicians helped convey
messages pertaining to
climate change.”
- Alleyne Regis, Regional
Manager
3. There we were at the foot of Kili-
manjaro in a conference room like no
other. Skull specimens of horned un-
gulates covered every wall, displayed
in age-graded rows, looking down on
us like ancestor spirits urging us on in
our efforts to ensure that their species
would endure into the future. They had
presumably been collected by the peo-
ple who, 50 years before, founded the
Mweka College of African Wildlife Man-
agement where the latest PCI-Media
Impact workshop was being held.
The opening day happened to
coincide with the presentation by four
groups of Mweka students of Entertain-
ment-Education products that they had
been preparing as part of their course
work – songs, dances, skits, poetry,
posters and other materials aimed at
engaging communities in conservation
and sustainable development activi-
ties. There couldn’t have been a more
relevant or inspiring opening to the
week’s work that brought together East
Africans and others from a variety of
backgrounds to brainstorm initial steps
in designing a radio drama and related
campaign aimed at discouraging bush-
meat hunting and wildlife poaching.
Board member Arvind Singhal
and I were commandeered (quite will-
ingly!) into becoming full participants as
Reflections from Tanzania
work proceeded in plenaries and small
groups to identify messages, story lines
and characters who might populate the
series. We thus had a unique opportu-
nity to learn from the rich knowledge and
experience of the others, who included
people with scientific, communications,
conservation and community develop-
ment work backgrounds, and even a
“reformed” poacher, whose insights
were invaluable. And Arvind contribut-
ed his matchless storytelling to provide
insights that broadened, deepened and
inspired the dialogue.
Perhaps most importantly from
our viewpoint as Board members, we
were able to see the PCI-Media Im-
pact program team in action, applying
a really impressive range of facilitation
skills so that by the end of four days the
group had actually created and agreed
on an initial draft of a drama. For me
this was a real eye opener – something
that at the beginning of the week I never
would have believed would be possible.
Altogether this experience gave me a
much better understanding of the work
that the organization is accomplishing,
of its challenges and its huge potential,
as well as reinforcing my appreciation of
my own amazing good fortune at being
able to play a small part in helping it to
fully realize this potential.
This month, our team, along
with two board members,
conducted a storytelling
workshop at the base of Mt.
Kilimanjaro. Board member,
Sally Timpson talks about her
experience.
4. We are extremely proud to announce that PCI-Media
Impact’s Strong Women, Strong Voices program in Peru,
Bolivia and Columbia won this year’s Global Award for
Excellence in Communication at the Avon Communica-
tions Awards. The event showcased organizations that
use communications to bring an end to violence against
women. Actress and activist Salma Hayek-Pinault
presented us with the event’s top award on March 8th,
International Women’s Day. The ceremony took place
during the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of
Women at the UN General Assembly in New York.
In December 2012, our My Community: Young People
Who Tell Stories to Inspire Change program, based in
Peru, was awarded UNFPA’s award for Best Practices in
Adolescence & Youth, taking first place in Latin America,
making it one of the top five best global practices. The
program consists of two innovative radio dramas created
by groups of young people dedicated to lowering teen-
age pregnancy rates in their communities. We recently
published a joint book with UNFPA that illustrates this
comprehensive approach to increasing awareness
among teenagers on the sensitive topics of sexual and
reproductive health. Sharing this experience around the
world is an integral element of a recently-signed 5 year
extension to continue this important work.
Recent Awards
Avon Foundation
UNFPA
Be sure to check our website at www.mediaimpact.org
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For more information contact Director of Partnerships, Alex Cottin at acottin@mediaimpact.org