Global community of professionals working in Communication for Development
Mass media has long been recognised as a way to prompt large-scale behaviour change. But can it change the norms and beliefs which perpetuate child marriage?
This brief takes a look at what entertainment-education is and its potential for addressing a complex social issue such as child marriage. It also contains a list of useful resources on the issue.
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According to the World Bank’s 2015 Development Report, edutainment has the potential to achieve large-scale behaviour change, and many other studies have noted similarly positive results. However, rigorously-gathered evidence of edutainment’s impact on behaviour change is still lacking. Oxfam has implemented edutainment programmes in 14 countries and is constantly seeking to better understand its impact. In 2015, Oxfam Novib’s impact measurement unit conducted a rigorous (randomised) evaluation of an edutainment pilot project in Tunisia.
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Since 2011, Syrians have been living through a war and the challenges that prolonged conflict entails. Those who have fled overseas – often as refugees – and those who have remained in the country have lost family members and their homes, lack access to education and health facilities, and are living with the daily threat of violence. In such a context, ethnic and religious divides have intensified and armed groups have been increasingly recruiting young people in Syria and neighbouring countries.
Against this backdrop, between 2015 and 2017, BBC Media Action produced and broadcast 150 episodes of the thrice-weekly radio drama Hay el Matar (Airport District ). Funded by the European Commission as part of a broader project aiming to help build an open and inclusive society in conflict-ridden Syria, the classic soap opera aired on BBC Arabic radio and online and was accompanied by a weekly discussion programme. Set in a fictional Damascus suburb, Hay el Matar followed the daily lives of residents and featured love affairs, family feuds and tragedies. Each episode was scripted by a team of Syrian writers and touched on a different issue relevant to life in Syria (e.g. the ongoing civil war, migration, violence and radicalisation, economic insecurity and child or forced marriage).
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What rigorous evidence is there on what types of programming interventions work to bring about changes in gender and social norms, and changes in wider attitudes and behaviours? This annotated bibliography presents studies of programmes that aim to bring about changes in gender and social norms, and changes in wider attitudes and behaviours. Much of the literature and some programme designs recognise the need to change social norms in order to change behaviours, such as HIV/AIDs prevention and better sanitation and hygiene. The report looks at interventions targeting the individual and inter-relational levels (e.g. workshops); the community level (e.g. community dialogue, community mobilisation and youth initiatives); and the wider societal level (mass media and edutainment). It highlights the effects of such interventions, focusing on rigorous evaluations.
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Developed by the Center for Media & Health for Girls Not Brides, this report looks at the opportunities and challenges of Entertainment-Education as a way to address child marriage. Informed by a range of practical and theoretical insights, the report analyses a selection of current initiatives, draws out key lessons and provides top tips for practitioners and donors of Entertainment-Education initiatives.
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