EducationEducation UpdateUpdate JULY 2008

The BBC World Service Trust is the BBC’s international charity. It uses media and communication to reduce poverty and promote human rights, thereby enabling Schoolchildren raise people to build their hands in class in southern Africa better lives.

The BBC World Service Trust and Education We use media – radio broadcasts, audio classroom materials, television programmes and print publications – to support education and teacher training. We work in partnership with government departments, educational institutions and NGOs to ensure that our programmes complement, support and extend their work. Our educational initiatives fall into three broad categories: ••Literacy for life – basic education for adults ••Teacher training ••Advocating education Giacomo Pirozzi/PANOS PICTURES

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Sharing stories: teachers Three of the and pupils take part in a BBC World recording Service Trust’s major projects involve distance/open learning: Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) Somali Radio Teacher iLearn

to equip primary school teachers with teaching skills in Teacher Education in the key areas of literacy, numeracy, science, life skills, Sub-Saharan Africa social studies and the arts. Audio training material – TESSA The BBC World Service Trust team in Nigeria created The BBC World Service Trust has been working 30, three to four minute mini dramas. These modelled with the TESSA consortium of fourteen African scenarios which teachers might encounter during their educational institutions and the Open University working lives. They are now a valuable audio resource UK, to create audio materials for training primary for use in teacher training on the TESSA website. school teachers as part of the open educational The Nigeria team also collaborated with TESSA in resources (OERs) on the TESSA website. In producing a series of the popular radio drama, Story addition, to raise awareness among a mass audience Story, highlighting the role of teachers in Africa. in Africa, we produced a special season of radio programmes broadcast on the BBC World Service In addition, a special Teachers in Africa website was which highlighted important issues around the role created on the BBC Africa website, featuring stories of teachers in Africa and how the supply and quality and views from the programmes. of teachers can be improved. Further information regarding TESSA can be obtained from TESSA brings together the Trust or the TESSA website: www.tessafrica.net teachers and teacher educators from across Africa to create, use and reversion a range of materials to support school based teacher education and training. tessafrica.net provides quality resources The BBC World Service for training Africa’s primary Trust supplies materials to support lessons school teachers, using online materials that can be accessed via the web. These resources have been written and designed by staff from TESSA partner The special Teachers in Africa homepage The TESSA website contains valuable resources institutions across Africa available on the BBC Africa website to support teachers

2 BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST EDUCATION UPDATE JULY 2008 Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter: bbcworldservicetrust.org Somali Radio Teacher Voices Since 2002 the BBC World Service Trust has been Halimo (age 60) working in partnership with the Africa Educational Halimo lives in Hargeisa with her husband and her three youngest children. Trust (AET) and the BBC Somali Service to deliver She began a tailoring business in 1995 when her husband became sick and was weekly radio programmes, face-to-face classes and study forced to give up work. Having been given no other educational opportunities, packs to teach literacy, numeracy and life skills in Somalia. Halimo was keen to be enrolled on the literacy programme so that she could We aim to reach people who have been denied a become literate and better provide for her family. She started attending the conventional education, particularly women, the poor and classes in 2004, and has now completed both Level 1 and Level 2. other traditionally disadvantaged groups, such as nomads. Halimo reported that attending the literacy classes had benefited her Over the last five years, 40,000 people in Somalia have household’s livelihood security because she is now able to more accurately successfully completed literacy and basic education measure out cloth, keep accounts and maintain records of monies owed to her courses through this distance learning approach in by customers. She is also able to help her children with their school work and classes which are held in 500 towns, rural villages and feels that she has gained respect from her husband and family. IDP camps. The ‘Radio Teacher’ programme has been extremely successful mainly due to: Mahamed (age 18) For most of his childhood, Mahamed worked as a livestock herder near Las Anod. ••the high level of access to radio in Somalia, and the In 2003 he moved to Burao to live with his uncle. Although his uncle owned a shop, popularity and prestige of the BBC. ( The BBC Somali he did not allow Mahamed to work for him because he was illiterate. However, Service is listened to by over 90% of adult Somalis) since completing literacy Level 1 in April 2006, his uncle has asked him to assist him ••the educational quality and entertainment value of in the shop so that he can spend more time caring for his elderly father. broadcasts Because Mahamed is able to read and has gained basic numeracy skills, he is ••the emphasis on close community collaboration and able to keep records and accounts, resulting in an increase in profits in the shop. consultation and AET’s ability and experience in Although Mahamed is not paid, he feels that he has gained the trust and respect adapting educational programmes to suit the needs of his uncle and has increased his sense of purpose and responsibility. He is of disadvantaged groups hopeful that his work experience will earn him a good reputation amongst other ••access to regular classes led by trained volunteer shop keepers in Burao, and enable him to secure paid employment in the future. tutors and printed course materials This distance learning approach using educational radio programmes, print materials and community-based iLearn classes has been particularly suited to the needs of those iLearn is an online learning system devised by the living in Somalia. Since 1991 there has been no effective BBC World Service Trust for media professionals in central government and the ongoing conflict has resulted developing and transitional countries. iLearn forms a in great movements of population and a breakdown key component of “blended learning” programmes – in conventional education delivery. The use of radio i.e. face-to-face training coupled with online learning. means that even when fighting forces people to flee their The courses are aimed at users with poor Internet homes, they can still follow the ‘Radio Teacher’ lessons connectivity and with little or no technical expertise. ZigZagmag.net consists uninterrupted. This flexibility of radio and the central They can be published in any language. of an audience-focused role of community volunteers as tutors, means that online space where young whole sections of the Somali population who are affected Many of our journalism training initiatives involve Iranian trainees from all by conflict or who have missed out on conventional face-to-face training and distance learning. We over the country can schooling, now have access to quality basic education. build bespoke online training sites, using our unique experience the day-to-day online learning tool – iLearn. iLearn training projects activities and interactions We are currently working with the Africa Educational of an online newsroom. Trust on a Level Three literacy course and the original have been successfully delivered in a wide range of beginner Level One ‘Radio Teacher’ programme is countries including India, Indonesia, Iran, Liberia, The site works alongside mentored online being completely revised and updated in partnership Moldova, Nigeria, Oman, Somalia, Romania, Russia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Yemen. journalism courses, with CARE and UNICEF. delivered through iLearn. iLearn courses:

AET Trainees receive feedback ••Promote the principles of balanced, objective from an online community journalism of seasoned journalists, other trainees and the ••Provide advice, models and guidelines for best site’s users. practice This often results in Focus on developing professional skills discussion threads •• developing after the iLearn was originally developed in 2002 to meet the publication of new articles, needs of broadcast journalists and journalism students both in the virtual in Sarajevo. It now supports a wide range of training newsroom between projects worldwide. Today, there are over 140 iLearn trainees and trainers and, modules in over a dozen languages, ranging from at a later stage, in the basic journalism skills and practice to more public space of the specialised topics. website. Distance and open learning is only one element of the work that the BBC World Service Trust Somali Radio Teacher delivers weekly radio programmes on undertakes. To visit the iLearn website, please click literacy, numeracy and life skills www.i-learn.co.uk

BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST EDUCATION UPDATE JULY 2008 Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter: bbcworldservicetrust.org 3 Education Update

The BBC World Service Trust uses media and communication to further international development

How we work The BBC World Service Trust partners with civil We produced over 1,000 hours of education and society, the media and governments to build long health programming in 28 languages in 2006/2007. term developmental solutions. To do this we: Our TV, radio and online programmes reached audiences totalling 119 million worldwide and we ••Produce creative programmes in multi-media formats which inform and engage audiences trained in excess of 1,500 journalists, broadcasters around key development issues and support staff. ••Strengthen the media section sector through In 2006/2007 the Trust: building professional capacity and infrastructure ••Employed 500 staff worldwide, 80% of whom were from, and worked in developing and ••Apply rigorous research so that we can measure bbcworldservicetrust.org impact and value for money and produce transitional countries information that informs our partners and the Won 13 international awards for its output work of the BBC World Service Trust •• ••Worked in over 43 developing and transitional We work in over 40 developing and transitional countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the BBC World Service Trust countries in: Former Soviet Union and Europe. Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4PH, UK ••Africa The Research & Learning Group (R&L) is an Te l Asia +44 (0) 20 7557 2462 •• international group of research professionals from Central Asia & the Caucasus Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the UK, who have Fax •• +44 (0) 20 7397 1622 Europe been recruited and trained by the BBC World •• Service Trust to specialise in media and audience Email ••Latin America & the Caribbean research. The R&L Goup focuses on four key ws.trust@bbc.co.uk ••North Africa & the Middle East activities: Web Providing audience and market insights to inform bbcworldservicetrust.org We focus on six key issues: •• project development throughout the project Sign up to our newsletter ••Education cycle If you want to learn more about the ongoing work of the Trust Emergency Response Conducting qualitative and quantitative research •• •• you can also subscribe to our studies to assess impact ••Environment monthly newsletter via our Building capacity in audience research skills in website. By subscribing you will Governance & Human Rights •• •• country receive monthly email bulletins Health about our work to reduce •• ••Documenting and disseminating what has been poverty and promote human ••Livelihoods learned rights around the world.

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