Soul City (presented at the 4th International Entertainment-Education Conference, Cape Town, 2004)

The presentation explores the use of edutainment for advocacy, from the Soul City Experience. According to the presenter, mass media is a critical source of information, a significant agenda setter, and an agent for social change. The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication addresses health and development issues by harnessing the power of mass media to reach millions of people. Its key vehicles, Soul City (aimed at the general public) and Soul Buddyz (aimed at 8-12 year olds and their caregivers), have at their core a prime time television drama, accompanied by radio drama programmes and information materials. The edutainment methodology used by the Institute weaves social issues into prime time entertainment programmes and print materials. Through this, Soul City aims to empower its audiences to make healthy choices as individuals and communities.

According to the presentation, the Soul City project has become a household name in SA, with its combination of media reaching millions of people. As a result, the project has gained a high level of credibility in the spheres of government and civil society. This has allowed the project to expand on its original function and engage increasingly in advocacy work, focusing on appropriate policies and legislation necessary to create an enabling environment for social change and the protection of human rights.

This paper presents how the Soul City project has been used as a springboard to mobilise communities around social justice and human rights issues. As part of the sixth series of the Soul City project and the third series of the Soul Buddyz project, the Institute recently partnered with the Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security on an awareness campaign around children’s rights to social security. The objectives of the campaign were to: increase the awareness of grants within the general public and the intended beneficiaries of grants; facilitate increased numbers of eligible people, particularly children registering for the grants to which they are entitled; increase the numbers of beneficiaries, particularly children who actually access the grants to which they are entitled; and hold government accountable to its promise to provide social security to those most in need. This presentation outlines the way in which the Institute has combined its edutainment vehicle with outreach and advocacy and presents the findings of an independent evaluation conducted to assess its impact.

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Entertainment Education (EE) Conference website (no longer active) in 2004.