Pamoja Mtaani [Together in the Hood] video game (Warner Bros Entertainment, US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Virtual Heroes, G-Pange and HIV Free Generation, Kenya 2008-2011)
Background: During the duration of the project Kenya's national HIV/AIDS strategy considered youth aged between 15 and 24 "most-at-risk" of contracting HIV, particularly young women had an HIV prevalence of 6.1% - four times higher than their male counterparts. Studies showed that, although knowledge of HIV/AIDS among youth was high, many young people continued to engage in risky behaviours, such as multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom use. Developed by Virtual Heroes for Warner Bros Entertainment in partnership with the United States (US) President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Pamoja Mtaani video game was launched in December 2008 in four centres around Nairobi. The goal of the project was to reach young people aged 15-19 years old with HIV behaviour-change messages through the use of a fun and innovative video game. What did the programme involve? The game was designed for young people between 15 and 19 and focused on five key HIV prevention behaviours: delaying first sexual intercourse, abstinence, avoiding multiple partners, correct and consistent condom use, and uptake of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). Players assumed the identity of one of five characters - a 22-year-old female musician, an 18-year-old male footballer, a 19-year-old male “techie”, a ...
ZNNP+ e-Network (The National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) and Youth Engage National Youth Alliance, Zimbabwe, 2014 onwards)
Background: Youth living with HIV in Zimbabwe face a number of challenges in accessing HIV/AIDS information and services due to a number of factors that range from affordability, inadequate information to stigma and discrimination. Zimbabwe Network for People living with HIV and Aids (ZNNP+) has been facing challenges in encouraging youths to join support groups mainly because of stigma and discrimination. ZNNP+ identified social media as a platform to improve access and availability of Youth friendly and comprehensive SRHR/HIV information and for virtual peer to peer psychosocial support. The platform provides education on sexuality to young affected populations as well as addressing social norms that fuel risk behaviors among young people. What did the programme involve? ZNNP+ trained 10 youths one from each of the ten provinces on the use of technological innovations as advocacy tools. The training was centered on the use of social media. After the training ZNNP+ provided smart phones and periodically provided them with airtime. The youths cascaded the trainings to district representatives in their provinces. Social Whatsapp group platforms were formed in all the districts linking with provinces and feeding to the national social Whatsapp group managed by the Advocacy Officer. The platforms are being used ...
Learning About Living e-Learning programme (OneWorld UK and Butterfly Works, Nigeria 2007-2011)
Background: ‘Learning about Living’ (LaL) was designed to empower young people in Nigeria to make well-informed decisions about their personal lives and relationships by utilising ICTs to provide accurate and non-judgemental information about sexual health. Its objectives included a measurable positive change in adolescent knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to sexual health. It was initiated in 2006 by OneWorld UK and Butterfly Works, Netherlands, working with key stakeholders’ in the youth sexual and reproductive health field in Nigeria. A two-year pilot ran from 2007 - 2009, followed by a three-year scale-up stage which ran from 2009-2011. In 2012 the programme was passed onto local partners and stakeholders to run and manage. What did the programme involve? An interactive e-Learning programme in the form of an electronic version of the Family Life and HIV/Aids Education (FLHE) national curriculum was created in order to teach adolescents about all aspects of reproductive health, including HIV prevention. This was based on the curriculum developed by the National Agency for Curriculum Development in the Nigerian educational sector. The programme was rolled out across over 500 schools and wider reach was later provided by a national mobile phone helpline. Teachers from each school involved received training ...
Participatory Theatre Gains Momentum (UNICEF workshop report 2015)
Participatory Theatre Gains Momentum, New Vision and Renewed Focus Workshop Charts a Path for Strengthening Participatory Theatre as a cross-cutting Communication for Development Platform LUSAKA, Zambia, 16 July 2015 (UNICEF) – More than 70 participants from 18 countries -- across six continents -- gathered here last week to share, learn, and sharpen strategies on how participatory theatre can engage communities to claim their rights and address specific development and humanitarian challenges. The seven-day workshop closed over the weekend in a ceremony with representation from Zambia’s Deputy Minister of Tourism and Arts, Hon. Esther Banda, MP, Chairman of the National Arts Council, Mulenga Kwepepe and senior UNICEF officials. Throughout the week, workshop participants deliberated on principles and standards for raising the quality of practice. These were captured in a Lusaka Declaration outlining detailed commitments of theatre practitioners for using participatory theatre as an approach for community engagement, behaviour change and social transformation. “Participatory Theatre can be a potent medium to address power imbalances in communities which prevent them from fulfilling their basic rights. It can be applied in conflict-affected settings to address underlying causes of tensions and build social cohesion; in post emergency situations to help reduce trauma and in development ...