Filega

Filega aims to weave development issues into a story told by characters that are believable, in order to take an honest look at the stresses and conflicts that emerge when any attempt is made to change the traditional status quo. It examines how harmony and equilibrium can be restored to a community once its members re-evaluate their social and agricultural practices. According to the producers, the drama reflects the practical, material and social problems facing people in rural areas including:

• access to water;
• food security;
• sanitation;
• crop management; and
• early marriage.

The programme also addresses such issues as gender inequalities in the household, environmental pollution, and the absence of good governance in rural communities.

According to the organisers, Ethiopian producers, journalists, and actors working on the radio drama learned a wide range of new skills including:

• sound quality;
• how to use microphones;
• editing supervision;
• logging;
• sound effects;
• recording on location;
• interview skills;
• conveying movement through radio;
• working on crowd scenes; and
• using interior and exterior space effectively.

The Trust also ran a training course in digital editing for journalists at the Amhara Mass Media Agency. The translators working on the project also developed new skills in translating storylines and dramatic dialogue, as well as translating technical terms related to sound recording and drama direction.

According to the producers, Filega is the first ever radio drama to be recorded on location in Ethiopia, outside a studio. The first episode was broadcast on February 17th, 2007, with weekly broadcasts for 18 weeks. Focus group discussions were held in rural areas in the Amhara region to assess the impact that the programme had on its audience. According to the organisers, audiences found the story lines, characters and language convincing, and appreciated hearing their lives and priorities reflected in the mass media. "Audiences were also impressed that the actors were from the area where the drama took place, rather than being recruited from Addis Ababa." In the next phase of the project, the BBC World Service Trust plans to focus on building production capacity within broadcast stations and local production companies.