17 October, 2007 - Published 15:49 GMT

Annual review 2006-2007

The BBC World Service Trust's latest annual review highlights the positive role of the media in the developing world.

Chairman of the BBC World Service Trust, Nigel Chapman, highlights the impact that media can have on positive social change in a rapid and global environment.

In the Trust’s annual review 2006-2007, published today, he illustrates how the production of ground-breaking and high-quality content have changed lives for the better in the developing world.

Innovation and impact

Innovative TV dramas – based on EastEnders and ER and Question Time style debates have raised awareness of health and social issues and allowed people to hold their leaders to account.

Stephen King, director of the BBC World Service Trust, states that the Trust works in 43 developing and transitional countries worldwide:

'The Trust’s work worldwide is characterised by two important priorities: firstly, the desire to prove impact; and secondly, a wish to build capacity and to strengthen skills.'

The Trust has made a commitment to measuring the impact of its work internationally 'both to help us to make our programmes accurate and relevant, as well as being able to measure changes in behaviour and attitudes amongst our audiences', states King.

He cites the following examples:

•The impact of the Trust’s Question Time style programming, Bangladesh Sanglap, shown on TV and large mobile screens across villages in Bangladesh allowing Bangladeshis to question their leaders on TV and radio for the first time reaching audiences of more than 7 million on TV and radio per week.

•A 48 part TV drama serial Wetin Dey, focussing on HIV and AIDS as part of the Nigeria-wide Stop HIV campaign is taking audiences by storm – combining creative skills of Nigeria’s film industry ‘Nollywood’ and technical expertise from the BBC.

•The advent of new technology especially the mobile phone, has transformed political participation allowing instant transmission of election results in post-conflict countries such as Sierra Leone.

Evidence of how technology has ensured wider participation in reporting comes surprisingly from Iran where the Trust has run an online journalism training course in Farsi for aspiring Iranian journalists inside the country.

The first round of request for candidates received over 1100 applications, followed by a further 600 in the second pool.

Further graphic examples of BBC World Service Trust projects across the world are provided by the Trust’s local staff from Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, India, Iran and Sierra Leone.

Other highlights include:

•Five hundred staff employed worldwide, 80 percent of whom were from, and worked in, developing and transitional countries.

•Working in over 43 developing and transitional countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Former Soviet Union and Europe.

•Winning 13 international awards for its output.