Pioneering Edutainment

A translation from the Arabic song If They Took Away Your Wings, these lyrics reflect the occasional tradition in Arab culture of referring to women as caged birds with their wings trimmed and call to action women who feel trapped in this way.
Music plays an integral part in Arab cultural identity and in recent years, songs and music videos in Arabic have developed into a large part of the Egyptian entertainment industry. At the same time, television has become an increasingly popular form of media. It is not unusual in Egypt to see coloured television sets in communities living well below the poverty line.

Recognising these cultural trends, many non-governmental organisations in Egypt have begun to use songs, TV spots and drama as part of their efforts to promote educational messages. Telecine International (TCI), with its work in media development, production and training, is one such organisation. Like many NGOs, TCI sees popular media as one of the most powerful means to address development and educational issues in the region, but it is their particular slant on this approach that distinguishes them from the rest.

TCI has become a pioneer in the use of ‘edutainment’ - education through entertainment. In 2001, TCI produced 10 WACC-funded television programmes as part of a 30- programme series that address the social and psychological concerns of young urban women in the Middle East, and Egypt in particular. The TV series is a magazine style show hosted by a woman. It uses drama, dialogue and music videos to promote young women’s self-esteem. With the educational message woven into an entertaining format, the programmes are able to address the challenges women face in overcoming both traditional discrimination and rising Islamic fundamentalism in the region whilst remaining sensitive to the culture in which they live.
Further developing their ‘edutainment’ approach, TCI is planning to produce a pioneering musical drama TV series next year. The musical dramas will be produced and distributed on audiocassettes, CDs and the Internet at the first site for ‘songs for women’. The website will include additional information on the various topics of the songs, a chat room for women to discuss issues affecting them and which arise from the songs, and audio files to allow visitors to listen to the music. With songs like If They Took Away Your Wings, the musical drama series, like the TV series in 2001, will seek to inform whilst also entertaining. It is this belief in the power of ‘edutainment’ that has informed TCI’s projects in the past and will continue to do so in the future.