Radio Soap Operas for Ethnic Minorities

Research-based, written in minority languages, and using both traditional and locally composed music, the soap operas intend to appeal and be relevant to local people in these areas. They are based on real life-experiences, and written in the local languages by native writers in an effort to ensure that programmes are culturally and linguistically relevant to the audience.

This initiative draws on the use of the "edutainment" strategy to shape behaviour, hopefully preventing the further spread of HIV/AIDS in the province. To that end, the format for the radio shows is a soap opera, using drama and music to illustrate themes that are relevant to the lives of highland girls, in particular. Based on the "real life" stories of actual women, these dramatisations explore the decisions facing young minority women today, and the implications of those decisions.

In developing the programmes, the active involvement of those most affected reflected an orientation toward local content and ownership. For instance, village-based focus groups and interviews helped identify initial themes. Most members of the research team (who collected baseline information as well as formative research) were from the same ethnic group as the intended listeners; according to UNESCO, this gave them a deeper understanding of the community they studied, as well as easier access to the people. Storylines were based, to the extent possible, on actual experiences of the villagers. The programmes were then developed in the local languages, by native speakers (not simply translated from materials produced in the national language or in English); the use of local languages is based on UNESCO's assessment that one of the main barriers to preventive education in the region is the vast number of distinct languages from different language families. (Many of these are unwritten languages without indigenous scripts; minority women are less likely to have command of either the national language or other minority languages). In addition, the programmes make use of both traditional and locally composed music, which underline themes of the shows. Follow-up focus groups are used to test the programmes for appropriateness and efficacy.

Specifically, "Life of Tragedies" tells the story of Ko San and her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, Gam Ja. Having contracted HIV/AIDS through a blood transfusion, she hides her illness from Gam Ja, her family and friends for months; she pretends she does not love Gam Ja anymore, and urges him to marry someone else...Besides telling Ko San and Gam Ja's story, the drama shows the disastrous effect drugs have on their village. (To read a sample script, click here). The producers of the drama belong to the same ethnic group as the audience: "People from the same ethnic group are like one big family. The Jingpo are very stubborn, they can only accept criticism from other Jingpo".

"The Weeping Jade Dragon Snow Mountain" is in development, as of this writing. In July 2004, UNESCO trained a team in qualitative research methodologies and the basics of HIV/AIDS, drugs and human trafficking; researchers were drawn from local Lijiang institutes and organisations. Two authors fluent in reading and writing a Naxi script (which is Romanised; the traditional ritual pictographic script is not conducive to a modern radio drama) wrote the radio drama, drawing upon the content of the research findings. However, the potential actors and actresses who would perform the drama could not read Romanised Naxi. In response, the Lijiang Radio Station organised a 2-week training during June and July 2005 to teach a pool of 25 potential actors and actresses how to read and write the Romanised script. After the script has undergone final revisions, the radio station will begin the production.

Efforts are in progress to make tapes of both the music and the programmes available for copying and distribution. For example, with funds from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNESCO is supporting the Yunnan People's Broadcasting Station in Kunming to reproduce and distribute around 1,000 sets of cassettes and CDs of "Life of Tragedies" to 260 villages in Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan Province. In addition, they will be given to local prefecture, county and township offices, including the local CDCs (Centers for Disease Control) to use as animation materials for prevention education.

HIV/AIDS, Health, Migration.

Yunnan, in the remote west of the country, has borders with Vietnam, Burma, Tibet and Laos, and is one of the country's economically poorest provinces. It is home to 25 of China's 55 ethnic minorities, who often do not speak the national language or have access to school education and therefore remain illiterate. They have in many cases been cut off from what little HIV/AIDS prevention information and education has been available in the province. Yunnan has one of the country's highest HIV infection rates, and 80% of the infected persons in Yunnan are members of an ethnic minority. Most people living with HIV in the province are intravenous drug users who inject heroin trafficked in from neighbouring Burma.