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What Is AI? Film-Based Avian Influenza Initiative

Country

Indonesia, Laos

Region

South East and East Asia

Programme Summary

This initiative centres around a series of mini-documentaries created in Indonesia designed to outline the basics of avian influenza (AI) and its transmission. Created by the United States (US)-based Academy for Educational Development (AED)'s Avian Influenza Behavior Change Communication (AI-BCC) project, the film is at the centre of a larger, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)-sponsored effort to train village chiefs in using the film to reach family poultry farmers and the public. An adaptation of the film was then created for the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) context.

Communication Strategies

"What Is AI?" draws on the medium of film as part of a strategy for raising awareness about avian influenza. Specifically, organisers originally prepared the 4 short film modules as public service announcements (PSAs), which may be viewed [in Bahasa Indonesia] online by clicking here. These modules were then linked together to create a 12-minute video/film called "What is AI?", which features animated graphics in an effort to clearly illustrate how the virus can transmit not only from bird to bird directly, but also how it can live in the environment and be transmitted indirectly as well. Subsequently, Laos adapted the original to meet that country's specific needs related to avian influenza; research figured into this process, as the film was pretested among a range of stakeholders and the provincial training teams that will be using the film as a training tool. According to organisers, further translations/adaptations may be forthcoming.

Interpersonal communication and print materials are also central to this effort, complementing the film as part of a training programme designed to build the capacity of local leaders to communicate with villages about avian influenza. Specifically, in all 17 provinces of Laos, "What Is AI?" is part of a training programme that also includes booklets, posters, and other materials that are provided to village leaders and chiefs for use in community meetings about avian influenza. Training of trainers (ToT) sessions involve such participatory tactics as mock trainings conducted with village leaders.

Development Issues

Health, Natural Resource Management.

Partners

AI-BCC. Also, Ogilvy acted as the production and design team for the original production. In Laos, the training package was developed as a joint project with members of the information, education, and communication (IEC) Task Force in Laos, the government, and United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), led by UNICEF - and including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), CARE, AED and the World Health Organization (WHO). The film was dubbed and adapted into Lao by Lao Art Media (production firm).

Contact

Anton Schneider
Country Coordinator, Avian Influenza Behavior Change Communication (AI-BCC), Lao PDR
Academy for Educational Development (AED)

Vientiane Commercial Bldg
33 Lanexang Avenue
P.O. Box 7003

Laos
Tel: 856 21 240 315

Pearl Ang
Academy for Educational Development (AED)
Tel: 65 82 82 8812

Source

Emails from Anton Schneider to The Communication Initiative on March 11 2008 and March 17 2008; and email from Dee Bennett to The Communication Initiative on March 17 2008.


Placed on the Communication Initiative site March 17 2008
Last Updated May 02 2008

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