From On Air - Spring 2000
One Story, Four Islands
In the Caribbean, PCI gears up to go
on the air with a multi-island radio serial.
In the eastern Caribbean,
where a rising population threatens the fragile ecological
balance between people and the environment, PCI is working
on the development of a new multi-island radio project in
collaboration with the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation,
an organization dedicated to protecting tropical biodiversity.
This radio serial will be produced and broadcast simultaneously
to four islands: Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Vincent
and The Grenadines. These islands are all English speaking,
offer comprehensive services through family planning clinics,
and share a history of radio-based information programs.
Over 1999, Alleyne Regis, RARE's Assistant Director of Conservation
Education, toured the four islands' radio facilities and asked
each one to create sample serial episodes that were then played
to focus groups. Based on audience feedback, Grenada was selected
to serve as the "host island" where the serial will
be produced. Valerie Cornwall, a native of Grenada, was hired
as the project's coordinator. With the help of PCI research
consultant Dr. Peter Vaughan, Ms. Cornwall led a team that
conducted and compiled formative research data from October
1999 to February 2000. The research included personal interviews,
questionnaire surveys, focus group meetings, and a review
of local literature and legislation, and was later developed
into a "values grid" identifying the region's cultural
values.
Using the formative research results as a guide, PCI held
an intensive Methodology and Script Design Workshop in Grenada
from March 20 to March 31. David Andrews and PCI’s VP
of International Programs Kate Randolph attended the opening
ceremony on March 20; PCI's Senior Program Officer, Susan
Rhodes, and Senior Consultant, Dr. Kimani Njogu, led the two-week
workshop. Among the participants were representatives from
Grenada's Ministry of Health and the local Planned Parenthood
affiliate; independent researchers and producers; and writers
and actors affiliated with the Heritage Theatre Company.
Over the first week, the workshop introduced participants
to PCI's methodology, studied the values grid, and focused
on issues of HIV transmission and prevention and gender sensitivity.
PCI invited Trish Williams, an independent consultant who
regularly conducts gender sensitivity workshops, to run the
gender portion of the workshop, which examined local gender
stereotypes and how the media influences gender roles.
During the second week, PCI’s Training Program Manager
Ann-Marie Ali joined the workshop and helped the writers identify
major themes for the serial's story line, develop the main
characters, and plot four pilot episodes. The final two days
covered radio production techniques: using sound and music
for added effect and drama. Over the next few months, the
pilot episodes will be produced and pre-tested, and a full
series of scripts will be developed. PCI and RARE expect the
multi-island radio serial to premiere by the fall.
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