Entertainment Education*
*Also called “Edu-tainment” by some.
UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office, Social and Behaviour Change Team, with inputs/feedback from country office colleagues from UNICEF Côte d’Ivoire.
[BETA: 12-3-24jag]
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Pocket Guides are short, adaptable resources that are no longer than 14 slides/pages. Please feel free to adapt, shorten, improve. You can prototype their use, sharing with others, to see if they are perceived as useful and usable.
We imagine that UNICEF SBC team members can use (and also adapt) this version of the pocket guide (and other resources). If you organize a briefing/training, etc, you can print a version for participants (and also share the digital version, if deemed useful).
These guides are not training modules and are not designed to be presented via PowerPoint (we’re using PowerPoint because it is easy to break up information into sections/chunks).
Pocket Guides exist in multiple languages (FR, ENG, SP and PORT), for each of the ten technical approaches covered in the “Intro Guide to Social and Behavior Change.” See West and Central Africa Region SBC Library for links to all Intro Guides and Pocket Guides.
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In this document you will find:
What is entertainment education?
When to use entertainment education
Principles of quality entertainment education
Four key steps to develop your entertainment education initiative
Step 1: Research and planning
Step 2: Development
Step 3: Production
Step 4: Implementation and promotion
Resources and feedback
About Pocket Guides
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Source for all images in this document: Thenounproject.com
What is entertainment education?
Entertainment education (EE), also known as edutainment, is a powerful approach that blends entertainment and education to drive positive social change. It harnesses the appeal of popular entertainment formats like drama, soap operas and talk shows to captivate audiences, turning learning into an engaging experience.
EE goes beyond modelling individual behavior; it is designed to spark dialogue and critical thinking. EE often prioritizes collective action and systemic issues. It uses storytelling and relatable human experiences to get everyone talking about it and (ideally) taking action - whether as an individual or as a group. EE doesn't tell you what to do; it shows you possible solutions to problems characters face.
While it can use various media formats, its effectiveness is maximized when implemented as a sustained program over time, such as through weekly radio or television dramas (also called “soap operas”).
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Click here to learn about Kwanda, world’s first reality TV show on community transformation.
When to use entertainment education (I)
Imagine sparking conversations about gender-based violence with a captivating TV series or inspiring climate action through a reality show. EE lets you tackle diverse social issues, like:
EE fits various settings, from schools to community programs and media platforms.
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Click here to explore some case studies and examples of how EE has been used to tackle a diversity of issues in Africa and across the World
When to use entertainment education (II)
An important feature of EE is its unique ability to shape the public debate and spark discussions about social norms, sensitive topics and taboos. While it does not dictate people what to do, it highlights subjects worthy of discussion.
Social change thrives on dialogue, yet starting conversations about issues like child marriage or sexual violence can be challenging. Thanks to EE, we can help people having difficult conversations because such conversations are centered on the program's characters rather than individuals' personal lives. We've all had those discussions that start with "Did you see last night's episode?."
A compelling TV or radio soap opera can facilitate these conversations effectively. Other formats like forum theater do embed dialogue directly into the program, triggering discussions.
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Forum theater involves performing a short scene highlighting a social conflict, then replaying it for audience interaction. Audience members suggest changes to the characters' actions or dialogue, fostering creative problem-solving and dialogue. Click on this LINK for a quick overview of this and other forms of Theater of the Oppressed
Principles of quality entertainment education
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Here are four key steps to develop your entertainment education initiative1
Step 1: Research and planning
Step 2: Development
Step 3: Production
Step 4: Implementation and promotion
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1Find detailed guidance (including M&E, not addressed in this guide) in Edutainment: Using Stories and Media for Social Action and Behaviour Change. Soul City Institute, 2013
Step 1: Research and planning
Define the social change you want to achieve and the intended audience, then dive deep! Research the local context, including current social issues, and audience preferences and media consumption habits. Identify what resonates with your audience and the best ways to engage them.
You can plan the program goals, scale, structure, contents, formats and channels based on these insights and on the available resources.
During this step, it is important to explore and establish alliances:
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Step 2: Development
Time to craft some magic! Create and pre-test captivating storylines and characters that resonate with your audience, sparking emotions, hope, and a sense of possibility. EE blends social change contents seamlessly with culturally relevant narratives.
Remember the "Show, Don't Lecture" principle: weave storylines where characters face challenges and learn to overcome them, instead of delivering speeches or direct messages.
Collaborate with experts, organizations, writers, and creatives for accuracy and top-notch entertainment. Balance is crucial—keep educational content engaging, avoiding social content overload. Use humor effectively, steering clear of fear tactics, and adopt a gender-transformative approach throughout content development.
Also, develop any planned extra goodies for a multimedia approach, like dialogue tools and social media kits for audience interaction.
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Step 3: Production
Lights, camera, action! Produce your EE program with high production quality standards, similar to those of local commercial programs that are successful in your country. Ensure that talented actors, directors, and crew members are involved to bring the vision to life.
Your production may include a combination of media (tv, radio, print media, social media, community dialogue, etc.) for better achieving results. You can think of the best combination to effectively reach and engage a diversity of audiences if needed. A multimedia approach reinforces visibility and credibility. It can also serve to expand dialogue in communities or in social media platforms (e.g. an online live exchange with a popular character of a radio soap-opera.)
At his point, you can start planning the distribution strategy early. How and when will the EE program be disseminated?
Click here to learn about MTV Shuga - Down South, an example of multimedia EE.
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Step 4: Implementation and promotion
This is the moment to spread the program and get people excited. Launch your program through various channels, including TV, radio, social media, and community events. Promotion and engagement activities should be sustained in time to keep the momentum.
Partnering with local organizations extends reach and fosters broader mobilization, crucial for achieving the edutainment program's goals.
This collaboration can enhance advocacy and mobilization efforts, leveraging program assets to support social movements. For instance, this can be done by involving characters as advocates, producing dialogue kits that utilize fragments of the EE program, setting up listeners clubs, portraying social movements in the narratives or featuring them in talk shows.
Combining EE with advocacy, social mobilization or other approaches is important since normally individual behavior change is not sufficient.
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To learn about edutainment and social movements, check Section 2 of: Pop Culture With a Purpose. Oxfam Novib/KIC, 2008.
Resources and feedback:
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Pocket Guides are short, adaptable resources that are no longer than 14 slides/pages. Please feel free to adapt, shorten, improve. You can prototype their use, sharing with others, to see if they are perceived as useful and usable.
Any of these would be ideal outcomes from our perspective: 1) You read this; 2) You give us feedback; 3) You use this; 4) You share this; 5) You adapt/improve this; 6) You make your own Pocket Guide using the template; 7) You share your draft guide with us… any of the above!
For sharing with others, you can send electronically, or you can:
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Additional resources on Social and Behavior Change:
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