Kasomi
JT Founder
BBC Media Action is the BBC’s international development charity. They use the power of media and communication to help reduce poverty and support people in understanding their rights. Their aim is to inform, connect and empower people around the world.
They work in partnership with broadcasters, governments, non-governmental organisations and donors to share reliable, timely and useful information. They reach over 200 million people in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe through their debate shows, dramas, radio and TV programmes, public service announcements, mobile phone services and face-to-face communication.
They also provide mentoring and training for journalists and development professionals. An extensive research and evaluation process underpins all that they do; it strengthens their work, helps them to evaluate impact and reach and increasingly contributes to the exchange of ideas in the policy sphere. Their overarching goal is to help people make sense of events, engage in dialogue and take action to improve their lives.
BBC Media Action’s communication projects are rooted in local people’s experiences and understanding. Their extensive research programme – called “world class” by the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) – provides insight into the lives of their audiences to ensure that their projects reflect their needs and circumstances.
They use their data to monitor how effectively their programmes engage people and stimulate change; lessons learned are then built into future projects. To share their findings and learning as widely as possible, they publish policy and research reports and briefings to inform communication for development practitioners and policy-makers.
Mission
They believe in the power of media and communication to help reduce poverty and support people in understanding their rights. Their aim is to inform, connect and empower people around the world.
They work in partnership to provide access to useful, timely, reliable information. They help people make sense of events, engage in dialogue and take action to improve their lives.
How they work
Partnership is key to BBC Media Action’s approach to using media and communication for development.
Through their 17 country offices and a core team in the UK, they work closely with media houses, local and national broadcasters, non-governmental organisations, government ministries and broadcasters to ensure development efforts are linked up on the ground to bring lasting change.
They also draw on the expertise of other parts of the BBC, especially in their partnerships with the language services of the BBC World Service. The integrity, quality and professionalism of the wider BBC guides their way of working
About the Company
We produce a weekly youth radio show, Niambie (Tell Me), made by young people, for young people across Tanzania. The show reaches more than 2m people and aims to build women’s and girls’ agency and contribute to long-term social and behaviour change around the rights of women and girls. It aims to do this by increasing the audience’s understanding of women’s rights and the benefits of gender equality, building people’s confidence and motivation to support women and uphold their rights, increasing the use of existing support services, and challenging discriminatory and harmful gender norms. With multi-year funding from Global Affairs Canada and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the show supports young women and girls to make informed decisions regarding their social, economic and political rights.
Its sister show, Tuyajenge (Let’s Build It), broadcast across Tanzania and East Africa by BBC Swahili, explores issues of importance to an older audience of parents, community leaders and other influencers.
We’re proud to have launched our first Kiswahili-language podcast with Tanzania Adapts, examining the impacts of climate change and how Tanzanians can adapt and cope. Available on YouTube, Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms, the weekly show is funded as part of a larger project by Irish Aid and the Embassy of Belgium in Tanzania.
Since 2020, we have partnered with Unicef to make weekly drama and discussion radio shows about responsible parenting and family care. We support a network of local stations to make Safari ya Malezi (A Parenting Journey), which explores issues of importance to parents and caregivers of children aged 0-18, and produce a national edition of the show.
In the latest phase of our long-running governance project A National Conversation, we produce a weekly radio show called Itika (Answer), aimed at Tanzanians aged 18-35, which explores issues relating to gender, climate change and civic participation. A local show exploring similar themes, called Nijuze (Inform Me), is produced and broadcast by partner radio stations in the project’s five focal regions. A team of experienced mentors provide training and support to producers at these stations, building their capacity to plan and produce well-researched, high-quality radio shows that respond to their audiences’ interests and needs.
Our previous projects in Tanzania have included developing radio shows and social media content to support young children’s learning, to improve child nutrition and to build resilience to a changing climate. Our weekly governance-focused radio show, Haba na Haba (‘Slowly but Surely’), was the country’s most widely broadcast radio programme, airing on 40 partner radio stations and attracting 5.3 million listeners. We also trained our partner stations to produce their own ‘good governance’ shows that complemented the themes of Haba na Haba and make them relevant to local contexts, reaching an additional 500,000 listeners.
