The Ugandan 13-part serial drama for television is just one example
of "Entertainment-Education," or the practice of using mass enter-
tainment as a vehicle for delivering public health messages. Whether
it's a radio show, rock concert, live theater production, local folk
media, or television drama, Entertainment-Education has become a
standard component of public health communication. The Johns Hopkins
University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP), one of the
pioneers in the field, will help the Ugandan team develop accurate
health messages, while the scriptwriters will make sure the material
is entertaining.

"Entertainment-Education has become an accepted public health commu-
nication tool because researchers have been able to document its ef-
fectiveness," said Phyllis Tilson Piotrow, Director of JHU/CCP. "We
have learned that if you can produce an entertaining soap opera,
viewers will remember and identify with characters making important
decisions and the consequences of those decisions."

Experts in the field of Entertainment-Education gathered last year in
The Netherlands to discuss its evolution and the impact it can have
on social change. JHU/CCP, the Netherlands Entertainment-Education
Foundation, and Ohio University have just released the proceedings
from the Third International Entertainment-Education Conference for
Social Change. Those proceedings include a declaration to continue
advancing and expanding the field to benefit society.

"Working collaboratively with entertainment specialists is the best
way to develop a quality product that viewers or listeners will re-
member and, perhaps, act on," Piotrow said. "We made a commitment in
the Netherlands to continue to refine and improve the field as we do
our work around the world."

JHU/CCP helps build the capacities of local organizations in numerous
Entertainment-Education projects internationally, including:

* A television variety show in Jordan. Shabab 21 began airing May 5,
2001, on national Jordanian television and is the first variety show
with a focus on empowering youth with reproductive health, family
planning and life planning information and skills to enable them to
make informed decisions as they prepare for the future. The 15-
episode series will be broadcast on a weekly basis over 4 months.

* Two TV soap operas in Bangladesh called Shabuj Chaya and Shabuj
Shati. According to research, both were extremely successful in in-
fluencing the audience in the required behavior change. They were
each 13 episodes long (20 minutes per episode) and as a result of the
success of these dramas (both attracted paid sponsorship), the US
Agency for International Development has agreed to fund a new 26-
episode TV serial this year. The new serial, Eye Megh, Eye Roudro
(Sometimes Sun; Sometimes Cloud), encourages people to go to either
the Green Umbrella or the Smiling Sun clinics for all family health
services. The green umbrella and the smiling sun are logos for clin-
ics being run by non-government organizations that are trying to up-
grade the skills and practices of health workers.

* Plans for a 13-episode TV serial drama in Pakistan that follows up
on the highly successful Aahat, a six-episode series launched in 1991
that is still airing. Current research from Pakistan shows young peo-
ple need more information about life planning and reproductive health
to make better choices and the new show will incorporate those mes-
sages.

* A 26-part radio drama serial in development in Ethiopia designed to
encourage young married couples to practice family planning and
HIV/AIDS prevention.

JHU/CCP is a pioneer in the field of strategic, research-based commu-
nication for behavior change and health promotion that has helped
transform the theory and practice of public health. With representa-
tives in more than 30 countries, JHU/CCP has been a leader in the de-
velopment of projects based on systematic needs assessments and clear
strategies for positioning and presenting the benefits of health in-
terventions to appropriate audiences. To find out more about JHU/CCP,
go to:
http://www.jhuccp.org

To obtain a copy of the Proceedings from the Third International En-
tertainment Education Conference for Social Change, please contact:

Kim Martin
Tel: +1-410 659-6140
mailto:[email protected]

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