BBC Media Action
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Hear Me Too: a drama to tackle violence against Rohingya women in Cox’s Bazar
Sarah Bradshaw, Training Manager, BBC Academy International
For International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, hear from Sarah Bradshaw, Training Manager for BBC Academy International and experienced radio producer/director, who helped our teams in Bangladesh to develop a new radio drama to change attitudes towards gender-based violence.
Posts
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Against all odds: female voices breaking the mould in Afghanistan
Mukhtar Yadgar
Project Officer, Afghanistan
Participants of a women’s networking meeting organised under the Her Rights, Her Voice Project
"When a woman or girl wants to work in society, especially to be a journalist and to appear on TV or radio, they have to be strong to cope with family and society to overcome lots of challenges and barriers.” – Mahboba, a local reporter speaking at a networking event in Balkh province, Afghanistan, in March 2019.
Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. According to Reporters Without Borders, last year was the deadliest year for Afghan media since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, with 15 journalists and media workers killed – 9 in a single day – in a series of bombings.
The situation is even direr for women wishing to pursue a career in journalism.
The first additional hurdle is education: women and girls in Afghanistan are among the most marginalised in the world, with only a third of girls attending school and fewer than a quarter of Afghan women able to read and write.
If a woman is lucky enough to gain an education, she then faces…
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World Press Freedom Day 2019: Our youth delegates take Addis Ababa by storm!
Becca Cole
Publicist
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Bwale Mutanuka and Kefa Hussein at WPFD2019
For 20 years, BBC Media Action has been supporting media freedom and providing training and mentoring to journalists in developing countries to produce free, independent journalism that provides space for constructive public debate.
For the recent UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference (WPFD2019) in Ethiopia, we sponsored two youth delegates – Bwale Mutanuka from Zambia and Kefa Hussein from Tanzania – to take part in the Youth Newsroom initiative, which gives young journalists from around the world the chance to report on the conference and improve their journalism skills.
Bwale (left), from Zambia, is currently Chief Producer of a youth-focussed radio show called Ishiwi, supported by BBC Media Action. Kefa (right) is a Film and Television student from Tanzania who works as a ‘Young Professional’ for our vibrant youth radio programme, Niambie. They both kindly spoke to me about their experiences in Addis, what they learned whilst there, and why media freedom is important to them.…
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“Climate change is about people”: TV to encourage action in Cambodia
Khuon Chandore
Former Research Manager, BBC Media Action Cambodia
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Tonle Sap, Cambodia (Photo: Ridan Sun)
Like many Cambodians, I’m noticing changes in the weather in my country. The temperature is getting hotter, floods and storms are happening more frequently, and our dry season is longer than ever before.
With 75% of the population living in rural areas and relying on farming or fishing to make a living, these weather changes are already having a big impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.
I helped conduct BBC Media Action’s newly-published research exploring how people across Cambodia are experiencing these weather changes, and whether or not they’re doing anything about them. The report outlines priority audiences, the challenges they are facing in responding to climate change, and tips for how media professionals can communicate climate issues to them more effectively.
We interviewed 1660 people across five regions of Cambodia, and conducted in-depth community discussions. Most people (85%) who we surveyed felt that the weather changes could be having an effect on their health.…
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To the polls: Radio changes the story for people with disabilities in Nigeria
Michael Ashofor
Producer, BBC Media Action Nigeria
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On World Radio Day, discover how we’re using radio in Nigeria to help people with disabilities get their voices heard in the country’s general elections.
Michael interviewing members of a disability rights group in Nigeria for Talk Your Own
“He (the driver) declined saying he didn’t want to take a wheelchair and I discovered that about five or six taxis were not going to take me… I waited for about two hours… it's the kind of thing that an average person with disability…
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Hear Me Too: a drama to tackle violence against Rohingya women in Cox’s Bazar
Sarah Bradshaw
Training Manager, BBC Academy International
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For International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we hear first-hand from Sarah Bradshaw, Training Manager for BBC Academy International and experienced radio producer/director. Sarah worked with our teams in Bangladesh to develop a new radio drama to change attitudes towards gender-based violence.
Rohingya women in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Sarah:
The first thing I hear in the refugee camp is, “Rohingya women can do…
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With Her: breaking barriers to education for girls in South Sudan
Samuel Komakech
Community Mobilisation Manager
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On International Day of the Girl, find out how a radio programme helped a schoolgirl in South Sudan avoid early marriage and return to school by changing the attitude of her grandfather.
The ongoing conflict in South Sudan has increased dangers for girls attending school in recent years and social norms play a significant role in the prevalence for boys over girls to attend (and remain) in education. Girls are usually expected to be responsible for the household chores, which affects their time for studying when they are at school, and early marriage is commonplace.
Mary was 16 when she… -
Information is aid: empowering Rohingya women in Cox’s Bazar
Mukta Roy
Humanitarian Officer, BBC Media Action Bangladesh
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On the first anniversary of the Rohingya crisis, one of our humanitarian workers on the ground in Bangladesh tells how a radio programme helped a mother keep her baby son healthy.
“I have learnt lots of new things from the radio programme, especially when the doctor advised about different health issues and encouraged me to visit nearer health care centres along with my husband when my children got sick.” Saiyada, Kutupalong camp, Bangladesh.
For the last seven months I’ve been working in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, as part of BBC Media Action’s response to the Rohingya crisis. We help…
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Making young dreams a reality in Cambodia
Monika Mey
Content Researcher, BBC Media Action Cambodia
As the world marks Youth Skills Day, we take a look at how a reality TV show empowered young people in Cambodia to secure themselves a better future. Around 300,000 young Cambodians enter the labour market every year, but they are often vulnerable to low wages, long working hours and/or hazardous working conditions. Many young people lack the soft skills and confidence they need to succeed, so “Dream Station” – which reached over 1.2 million viewers at its peak – aimed to inspire them.
“After my father’s death, my dream was buried. I didn’t tell anyone about it; I didn’t think it was possible…
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“Convince your people” an eye opening debate show in Somalia
Mohammed A. Gaas
Deputy Country Director, Somalia
“We often don’t get a chance to face our leaders and ask them questions. This was a good opportunity for us,” says 24 year-old Abdirizack Walanwal from Burao in Somaliland
There is a magic about Qanci Dadkaaga as you walk into a recording. Enthusiasm fills the hall as one person sets out chairs for the audience, another runs a soundcheck, someone else replaces a broken microphone.
From managers, researchers, finance officers, producers and studio operators as well as reporters – our production team is a diverse mix of men and women - and everybody helps everybody.
It’s teamwork at its finest,…
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Rehabilitation radio: how drama is helping change attitudes in South Sudan
Henning Goransson Sandberg
Research Manager, BBC Media Action
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Our radio drama Life in Lulu which depicts the lives and trials of people living in a small village in South Sudan and its regular listeners include inmates at Tonj prison. Henning Goransson Sandberg, our Research Manager, talks about his visit there to understand what they took from the programme.
The prison sits on a main road, overlooking the river that flows past the city of Tonj, in central…
