"Tuyage Twongere" - Let's Talk: IRIN Radio Burundi Soap Opera Project Audience Survey

Executive Summary:

"IRIN Radio's soap opera, entitled Tuyage Twongere (Let's Talk in Kirundi), was launched in 2003. The drama is written by celebrated Burundian playwright, Marie-Louise Sibazuri, and recorded by refugee actors in the camps in Ngara, western Tanzania. The project is a coproduction by IRIN Radio and Radio Kwizera, the Jesuit Refugee Service community station in Ngara. The series is aired by Kwizera, covering the camps and bordering provinces of Burundi, and by four stations in Burundi - the state broadcaster RTNB, and private FM stations RPA, Culture, and Renaissance.

The project aims to give the refugees a voice on issues of concern to them, and to stimulate dialogue between Burundians in the camps and those at home thereby promoting reconciliation. It also seeks to advocate on gender equality, health, hygiene, human rights and other issues to improve living conditions for Burundian communities.

After six months of weekly broadcasts of the ongoing series, IRIN Radio undertook a mini-evaluation of the impact of the drama by way of an audience survey. Nearly 1,000 respondents in the refugee camps and in Burundi answered a questionnaire in Kirundi, enumerated by IRIN's local correspondents. The survey sought to find out who is listening to the drama, on which station, what they gain from it, whether project goals are being met, and any recommendations.

Just under half of all respondents were women. The respondents were drawn from a cross-section of urban and rural society in Burundi, and from a variety of people in each of the refugee camps in Tanzania. Most respondents were aged between 19-49.

In summary, the survey found:

• 64% of respondents in the refugee camps in Tanzania listen regularly to Tuyage Twongere
• 40% of respondents in Burundi follow the series
• 97% of respondents in Tanzania and Burundi who know the drama say they like it because it is educational, informative, and/or entertaining.
• 86% of those who listen say they have learned something positive about family relations, life skills, the plight of refugees, HIV/AIDS, hygiene, or other issues
• 76% of listeners in the refugee camps say Tuyage Twongere is a realistic depiction of their lives
• 23% of listeners in Burundi say the series has increased their understanding of the refugees and made them feel more positive about them
• 90% of all respondents say they listen to the radio
• 60% of all respondents have their own radio
• 43% of listeners to the series tune to Radio Kwizera; RPA and RTNB are next most popular stations for listeners to the series

Clearly, Tuyage Twongere is already popular among listeners in the refugee camps, and after just six months on air is gaining ground with the audience in Burundi. The survey indicates that the project is on track in terms of its objectives, by enabling the refugees' voices to be heard, by stimulating the flow of cross-border information, and by contributing to the 'rapprochement' of divided Burundian communities.

Many listeners requested that the series be aired twice or three times weekly, rather than the current once a week. Some suggested changes to broadcast times on their station of choice. IRIN plans to work with radio partners for a more suitable broadcast schedule in 2005.

Full analysis of the survey findings is contained in this report. Several in-depth focus group sessions were also held with Tuyage Twongere listeners in the refugee camps and in Burundi. The results of these focus groups are documented in an adjoining report."

Please note: this document appears to no longer be available through IRIN. Please contact IRIN for more information.