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African development action with informed and engaged societies
Soul Beat Africa
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Niambie Radio Project

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Niambie ('Tell me' in Kiswahili) is a three-year civic engagement project which is designed to inform Tanzanian youth of political processes and issues so that they can play a more constructive role in the country’s democratic processes. This is particularly important in light of the local, parliamentary, and presidential elections taking place in late 2015, as well as the new proposed constitution being put to a referendum. The BBC Media Action is working with youth to offer them information and an interactive platform through a national radio show, accompanied by digital content production and social media, and is also conducting capacity building workshops for media organisations to improve reporting around elections. The project is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Communication Strategies

The Niambe project is designed to not only encourage young Tanzanians to vote, but also to be well-informed, and know their rights and responsibilities. The radio show's key focus audience is young people who will be voting for the first time in 2015, especially girls between the ages of 17 and 22. It features the voices and views of Tanzania's young people who interact with each other, and with local leaders and elected officials.

At the outset of programme production, producers travelled on a fact-finding mission to BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra's London studios, to find out "what works" at one of the United Kingdom’s most popular youth radio stations, and how some of these ideas could be adopted or adapted in Tanzania. According to Niambie producers, the show has followed some of their advice in being entertaining and inviting celebrity guests to help reach wider audiences.

Listeners can interact with the show through the Niambie facebook page and by following Niambie on Twitter , as well as listen to episodes on Soundcloud.

In addition to the radio and digital content, the project is also working with national broadcasters and high-level Tanzanian media organisations – such as the Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) and the Tanzania Editors Forum (TEF) – to produce high-quality reporting during the election cycle. Training on editorial and leadership skills will also take place to provide more trusted, accurate, and balanced coverage to meet audience needs.

Development Issues

Youth, Democracy and Governance

Key Points

At the beginning of the project, BBC Media Action conducted formative and baseline research to understand the barriers and drivers that affect young people’s social and political engagement. It included focus group discussions with youth across the country, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, and a nationally representative survey with 1,993 respondents aged 15–30 years old conducted in May 2014.

According to this research, recommendations to guide the development of Niambie, and ensure it addressed young people’s needs, included the following:

  • "Inspire: Sharing examples of people "like them" who have accomplished their dreams, and highlighting opportunities can be valuable and empowering for young people.
  • Inform and increase confidence: Young people feel that they do not know enough about political issues. The programme can provide clarity and expose myths, as well as increase youth's (and particularly young women's) visibility and confidence by putting their views at the centre of the debate.
  • Bring young people and leaders together: Youth are sceptical about the responsiveness of their elected leaders. The programme can be a platform for dialogue so that young people can influence decision-making processes before and after the elections, specifically on issues that concern them. "

(See Related Summary below for more information).

Sources

BBC Media Action website, BBC Media Action blog , and NHow can radio encourage youth engagement with democracy in Tanzania? Niambie’s potential [PDF] on May 20 2015.