Soul Beat Africa

• Soul City in brief...
• Soul City's theory of change...
• OneLove Regional Campaign...
• Kwanda Initiative...
• Phuza Wize campaign...
• Soul City television ...
• Soul City materials ...
• Soul City Regional Programme on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights...
• Research featuring Soul City's work and impact...

• 1. Soul City's Theory of Social and Behaviour ChangeThis paper, developed by Soul City staff in 2010 to assist them with their work, describes the following influences that shaped their social and behaviour change model: critical reflection; the broader context in which the model is implemented; the international debate on effective social and behaviour change communication; and the evidence of programme impact. The foundation of Soul City's theory of change has always been the synergy between a health promotion model and a societal model: Soul City aims to impact positively on health and social outcomes by addressing the broader social and community environments, the social-interpersonal environment and individual determinants of health.
  For more information, see The Drum Beat 605 - Soul City's Theory of Social and Behaviour Change
  

• 2. OneLove Regional HIV Prevention Campaign: Evaluation Summary 2013 [2013]By Esca ScheepersThis report, just recently released, offers a summary of an evaluation of the OneLove Campaign, a regional initiative developed by The Soul City Regional Programme and partner organisations in 10 southern African countries designed to reduce multiple concurrent partnerships (MCPs), which have been identified as a key driver of HIV/AIDS. Across the region, the campaign reached 27 million people and was associated with increases in condom use, HIV testing, and knowledge levels, although less consistent impact was shown on multiple partner reduction in most countries.
  
• 3. OneLove Campaign: Mid-term Qualitative Evaluation Report [Jun, 2012]By Lebohang Letsela and Michael JanaThis report shares the summary results of a meta-analysis of evaluation reports conducted by OneLove regional campaign partners to assess the mid-term progress of the campaign. The evaluations consisted of the OneLove mid-term evaluation as well as audience reception research on the series of films called Love Stories. According to the report, the research findings are encouraging with significant evidence of campaign impact on important drivers of the process of change, and self-reported evidence of actual behaviour change.
  To find out more about the OneLove Campaign (country projects, research, and related materials), see these previous issues of The Soul Beat e-newsletter:
  • The Soul Beat 125 - HIV Prevention - Onelove
  • The Soul Beat 141 - Regional Onelove HIV Prevention Campaign - Update (Nov 2009)
  • The Soul Beat 155 - Regional OneLove HIV Prevention Campaign - 2010 Update

• 4. Reality Television for Community Development: The Kwanda Initiative in South Africa [Sept, 2012]By Lebo Ramafoko, Renay Weiner, and Gavin AnderssonThis article, written by SCI and published in the Glocal Times, shares the evaluation findings of Kwanda, a community development initiative of the SCI and partners in which five deprived communities were challenged to make their areas "look better, feel better, and work better" by addressing health and development issues. Responses to this challenge were documented in a 13-episode reality TV series that culminated in a viewer vote for the most successful community. According to the article, the evaluation of the initiative concluded that Kwanda offers possibilities for using the reality TV format to foster community development and the scaling-up of development messaging.
  
• 5. Audience Engagement on HIV Prevention Messages through Interactive Social (Digital) Media [2012]By L. Letsela, J. Button, Z. Gule, Renay Weiner, and Sue GoldsteinThis poster was presented at the 6th SA Aids Conference, to share the experience of SCI in using digital media platforms alongside its television, radio, and print productions to generate dialogue and debate on HIV prevention. The poster focuses on the multi-platform digital media intervention used during the Kwanda Talk show.
  

• 6. Phuza Wize CampaignThe Phuza Wize Drink Safe Live Safe campaign, launched by SCI in March 2010, aims to create Safer Social Spaces (S3) and alcohol-free zones in order to reduce levels of violence and new HIV infections in South Africa. A primary target audience is young men aged 15 to 35 who research shows, are the group most affected by interpersonal violence. The community and its members are also a key target audience. The campaign uses mass media, social mobilisation, and advocacy to achieve its objectives. As part of the mass media component, the campaign was incorporated into the Soul City television series 10, the Soul Buddyz series, and the Soul City radio series.
  
• 7. Northern Cape Community Alcohol Advocacy ProjectLaunched in October 2012 by SCI, the Northern Cape Community Alcohol Advocacy Project was a six week initiative implemented in parts of the Galeshewe Township, Northern Cape to support alcohol-related policy processes, including a ban on alcohol advertising and marketing. The intervention sought to collect and document the experiences of community members whose lives have been impacted by the availability and consumption of alcohol. The initiative was part of the Phuza Wize advocacy campaign to change alcohol policy in South Africa.
  

• 8. Soul Buddyz Series 5Soul Buddyz is a multi-media edutainment vehicle for children aged 8-12 years old designed to promote their health and well-being. Told through television, radio, and print learner material, it closely reflects the lives, struggles, and joys of 8 - 12 year olds in a changing society. Launched in January 2011, the fifth series of the Soul Buddyz television programme focused on violence prevention, and specifically the role of alcohol as a catalyst for violence. It supported the Phuza Wize campaign, a national campaign to mobilise communities to bring about changes in acceptable drinking behaviour.
  
• 9. Soul City Series 11The Soul City television drama series, comprising 13 half-hour episodes, is designed to educate, inform, and entertain about a range of social and health issues in South Africa. The eleventh series of Soul City premiered in October 2011 with a specific focus on community action, preventing mother to child transmission (PMTCT), male medical circumcision (MMC), and personal finance.
  

• 10. Phuza Wize Alcohol Discussion ToolThis discussion tool consists of a 15-minute DVD and a booklet to guide group discussions. The resource forms part of the Phuza Wize Campaign which aims to build communities' capacity to make Safer Social Spaces and reduce alcohol-fuelled violence. It also seeks to change the way South Africans drink alcohol and create a culture where people drink alcohol safely.
  
• 11. Medical Male Circumcision Discussion ToolThis discussion tool consists of a 15-minute DVD and a booklet with information on MMC and questions to guide discussions. The DVD tells the story of two brothers, Samkelo and Mandla, who both get circumcised. However, while Sam abstains from sex after circumcision, his brother does not abstain and even has unprotected sex.
  

• The Soul Beat 221 - Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Youth in Africa
• The Soul Beat 228 - Sex Worker Health and Rights
• The Soul Beat 233 - Promoting Healthy Border and Migrant Populations

• 12. South Africans Take Action: Key Findings of the Third South African National HIV Communication Survey 2012 [2012]By Muthi NhelmaThis report shares the results of the 3rd South African National HIV Communication Survey (NCS). According to the survey, new data shows substantial increases in behaviours that reduce the risk of HIV: condom use, HIV counselling and testing, and voluntary medical male circumcision. The data also confirms that exposure to HIV communication programmes have a direct impact on people practicing these behaviours. The survey examined the impact of 19 communication programmes and their components in South Africa which included Soul City's One Love and Phuza Wise campaigns; the Love Stories in the Time of AIDS films; and the Soul Buddyz television series and Soul Buddyz Clubs.
  
• 13. HIV Prevention Approaches Addressing Concurrent Sexual Partnerships - An Inventory [Dec, 2012]This resource pack, published by the Royal Tropical Institute's Development Policy and Practice Department, is an inventory of campaigns and interventions which are designed to address concurrent sexual partnerships (CSP) in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda. The resource is meant for anyone working on HIV prevention and or around sexual health and interested in addressing concurrent sexual partnerships more effectively. It includes a description of Soul City's OneLove campaign.
  
• 14. Multiple and Concurrent Sexual Partnerships in Generalised HIV Epidemics in Southern and East Africa: A Desk Review of Communication Interventions to Identify Lessons Learned for Strengthening Future HIV Behavioral Prevention Programs [Dec, 2012]By Hibist Astatke, Sarah Meyanathan, Karen Greiner, and Elizabeth CostenbaderThis report shares findings of a desk review conducted by Communication for Change (C-Change) project of communication programmes that focus on MCP in Southern and East Africa. The objective of the desk review was to identify lessons learned from recent experiences in designing, implementing, and evaluating these programmes and contribute to the body of evidence used to strengthen future HIV prevention programmes. The report provides lessons learned from nine campaigns that address MCP which includes the OneLove Regional campaign led by SCI.
  
• 15. What Works to Prevent Partner Violence? An Evidence Overview [Dec, 2011]By Lori L. HeiseThis document reviews the empirical evidence of what works in low- and middle-income countries to prevent violence against women (VAW) by their husbands and other male partners. Its purpose is to help inform the future direction of the United Kingdom (UK)'s Department for International Development (DFID) programming on VAW, with an eye towards maximising its impact and ensuring the best use of scarce resources. The review concentrates on summarising, first, evidence that establishes the link between key factors and risk of partner violence, and second, what is known about the effectiveness of interventions to either reduce partner violence directly or indirectly by influencing these factors. The Soul City television and radio drama series is cited as one example of how edutainment is being used to tackle partner violence.
  
• 16. Presenting the Evidence for Social and Behavioural Communication [2010]By Thomas ScalwayThis paper, published by Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa (JHHESA), with inputs from Health and Development Africa (HDA), SCI, LoveLife, and Community Media Trust (CMT), argues that HIV communication is effective, cost-effective, and a crucial counterpart to clinical HIV prevention interventions. The paper describes a range of HIV communication programmes - including the OneLove campaign, that aim to tackle specific aspects of knowledge, motivation, attitudes, norms, or behaviours in a way that will have a knock-on effect in terms of reducing new HIV infections. The evidence cited is not focused on reduction of HIV incidence; however, it does show both the impact of communication programmes in terms of social or behavioural outcomes and also the clear evidence that these social and behavioural outcomes are reducing the incidence in South Africa and in a number of other countries.
  
• 17. Investigating Communication, Health and Development: 10 Years of Research in the Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) [2012]Edited by Emma Durden and Eliza GovenderThis book traces some of the key research conducted over a ten-year period by graduate students of the Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) Entertainment Education/Communication for Participatory Development course at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The ten-year period spans from 2002, when the course was first introduced, to 2011. Two of the papers deal with the work of SCI: "A reception analysis of Soul City beyond South Africa: The case of Choose Life in Lesotho" and "The Soul Goal: Reception analysis among high-school children of selected episodes of Soul City VII".