Poulaonp ti Media Center ANNUAL REPORT 2000 President’s Message n 2000, Population Media Center experi- enced exponential growth in programs and visibility. We started 2000 — our 2nd full year of operation — with projects in four countries: the United States, The Philip- As a result of our work, the US Centers for Ipines, Mexico and Ethiopia. We ended the year Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has with projects in 10 countries, more than doubling adopted the Sabido methodology as one of their our worldwide outreach. In the pages that follow, official behavior change communication strategies you will read about projects that are under way or for addressing AIDS in Africa. And so, in Septem- in development in India, The Philippines, ber, we conducted a six-country training workshop Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, on the Sabido methodology for participants from Brazil, Mexico and The United States. Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda and Clearly, there is tremendous demand for effec- Zimbabwe, under sponsorship of the African Re- tive behavior change communication strategies. gional Headquarters of the World Health Organi- The strong scientific evidence for the effectiveness zation (WHO) and the CDC’s Office of Global of the entertainment-education methodology cre- Health. PMC also conducted a training workshop ated by Miguel Sabido of Mexico — using serial- focused on formative research methodologies for ized dramas to create characters who evolve gradu- the project team in Ethiopia in May. In addition, ally into role models for the audience — has led to Tom Kazungu provided in-depth training in ra- tremendous interest in the expertise of PMC per- dio production to a producer from Botswana spon- sonnel and far more requests for PMC’s assistance sored by the CDC. in developing Sabido-style programs than we have Many of the pioneers and leaders in the enter- been able to respond to. tainment-education field have joined with Popu- Population Media Center’s personnel have lation Media Center to carry out its mission. unique depth of experience with application of These include: the Sabido methodology to social and health con- cerns related to population and reproductive • Miguel Sabido, the creator of the social-content health issues around the world. But knowledge soap opera methodology; of the methodology is still far too limited glo- • David Poindexter, former president of Popula- bally, and, consequently, PMC devoted a good tion Communications International (PCI), who deal of time in 2000 to conducting capacity- is now PMC’s honorary chair; building workshops for researchers, script writ- • Rodney Shaw, founder of The Population Insti- ers and broadcast professionals. tute and former Senior Vice President of PCI, In September, PMC facilitated the participation who is now PMC’s Senior Vice President; of Miguel Sabido, President of the World Associa- • Tom Kazungu, the first African and the first per- tion of Producers of Entertainment-Education, and son in radio to use the Sabido methodology, who his colleague Sergio Alarcon, President of The World now serves as the Director of Radio Production Entertainment-Education Foundation, in a global Training for PMC; meeting of entertainment-education practitioners • Rose Haji, the producer of a very successful Tan- held in Amsterdam — the third in a series of such zanian radio serial using the Sabido methodology, meetings that have occurred since 1989. who serves as a production trainer with PMC; 2Population Media Center •Ramadhan Swalehe, who carried out the for- casting Network and CNN in the development of mative research and the evaluation of the Tanza- six of the People Count documentaries produced nian serial, and who now serves as a research by Barbara Pyle, and narrated by Jane Fonda. These trainer for PMC; programs have been provided absolutely free, with •Roger Pereira, producer of the blockbuster In- no licensing fees to broadcasters worldwide, and dian television serial using the Sabido method- may be used for educational purposes in perpetu- ology in the early 1990s (with an average audi- ity. As a result, many countries in the developing ence of 230 million viewers), who has now world are now using People Count programs ex- agreed to produce PMC’s planned television tensively. The segment entitled, “Heads Up,” a show serial in India; about the impact of exponential population growth •Cecile Alvarez, who represents PMC in The on the natural resources of Easter Island and the Philippines, and whose 1994 television soap resulting collapse of human civilization there, was opera became the subject of Barbara Pyle’s first developed with support provided by PMC under People Count documentary on CNN and a grant from the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Turner Broadcasting; •Anameli Monroy, an adolescent sexuality expert, who is PMC’s Country Director in Mexico; and •Marcio Schiavo, who for twelve years has worked with David Poindexter and me in influencing Brazil’s TV Globo to incorporate family planning themes into its prime time serial dramas. •Our Program Advisory Board includes 32 key players in the fields of broadcasting, population stabilization and communications research. All of PMC's personnel and advisors recognize the need for our work and the necessity of expand- ing it to respond to the many countries that have requested our help. PMC’s William Ryerson was interviewed by Judy Woodruff on CNN. Population Media Center personnel conducted a total of seven international missions in 2000, al- though the requests for PMC’s help outpaced our Charitable Fund. “A New Deal” featured how fam- ability to respond. There is a clear need to bring ily planning services have been built into a micro- the Sabido behavior change communication meth- enterprise lending program sponsored by the UN odology to more of the fastest growing countries Population Fund. “Soaps for Social Change” is an in the world — and to those most severely affected update of a 1994 documentary Barbara Pyle made by the AIDS epidemic. To do this requires philan- about the Sabido-style television serial produced thropic resources, commercial involvement and, by Cecile Alvarez of The Philippines, PMC’s part- most importantly, a commitment to spread the use ner in that country. The earlier documentary played of the methodology to new countries. Everyone worldwide on CNN International during both the involved with PMC shares that commitment. 1994 Conference on Population and Development The media paid increasing attention to the or- in Cairo and the 1995 Beijing Women’s Confer- ganization and its work in 2000. Population Me- ence. The updated documentary adds information dia Center collaborated with the Turner Broad- about the use of soap operas for social change and Annual Report 2000 3 uses Jane Fonda as host. tion strategy. In April 2000, I was PMC’s Approach In November, PMC’s honor- the Earth Day speaker for an ary chair, David Poindexter, and event in Boston co-sponsored by arvard University I were interviewed by Cecile the Union of Concerned Scien- biologist E. O. Wilson Alvarez on her nightly radio pro- tists and Population Resource Honce said, “The citadel gram, which is broadcast in the Center. Closer to home, I gave of the mind can not be taken language, Tagalog (with a little public addresses at Dartmouth by direct attack.” This is English from guests) nationwide College, the University of Ver- especially true with regard to in The Philippines. mont, and an Elderhostel event the ingrained beliefs and In July and August, the Ethio- held at Killington Resort. behaviors in the area of family pian Herald carried a series of ar- To curb population growth re- life. Traditions regarding the ticles on PMC’s project there. quires not only family planning role and status of women, In Vermont, where PMC’s services, but also changing atti- family size decisions, and headquarters are located, the tudes and behavior with regard sexual behavior have been news media have taken a strong to childbearing and related issues. shown scientifically to be interest in our programs. Ver- The challenge is enormous, but more easily changed through mont Public Television has it is clear that the behavior role modeling by characters in broadcast its Points North inter- change communication strategy emotion-packed serial dramas view with me numerous times developed over the last quarter than through direct informa- during the last year, and a news century by many of the people tion and education programs. story about PMC was carried by involved with PMC has great po- Entertainment programs WCAX, the local CBS affiliate. tential to speed the process of attract larger audiences, and In addition, the newspaper, Seven population stabilization. Behav- audience members form Days, featured PMC in its March ior change programs via the en- emotional bonds with charac- 15, 2000 issue. tertainment mass media have ters; in turn, those characters Population Media Center’s great leverage and can deliver sig- influence social norms. web site (www.population nificant impact. Enhancing the capacity of media.org) logged over 8,000 I am thankful for the support various countries to carry out visitors during the year; an analy- of our dedicated and highly pro- effective communication sis of the monthly visits indicates fessional staff and for the trust strategies related to family and that this number is climbing ex- that our contributors have placed reproductive health and associ- ponentially. The site was recently in us. The progress we have made ated social issues serves as the selected as one of the best educa- in the last year as a result of this cornerstone of PMC’s mission. tional resources on the web by support is nothing short of re- As a result of international Study Web (a division of markable. collaboration among develop- LightSpan, Inc.), one of the We look forward to achieving ing countries, each country internet’s premier sites for edu- even more in the year ahead.