Participatory media campaign on road safety and road safety laws in Tanzania

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FADECO, Tanzania

Partner

FADECO is the acronym of Family Alliance for Development and Cooperation, a local NGO. FADECO’s mission is “working for sustainable development of the grassroots communities to alleviate poverty and improve standards of living”. FADECO Community Radio (FRC 100.8 FM) is located in Karagwe/Kagera Region (Northwest Tanzania), and became operational in 2007. FADECO Community Radio is intended to be used by the community in Karagwe, to effect sustainable rural socio-economic development. The station reaches about six million listeners. http://www.fadeco.org/radio

Preliminary Partnership with Stem van Afrika

In 2009/2010, Stem van Afrika supported FADECO for a project targeting Albinos in the Kagera Region, and, in 2012, in connection with the project “Sensitization Programmes for People with Disabilities: Giving Voice to People with Disabilities in Tanzania”.

Project Objective

“The project has a major component on training of journalists and behaviour change among road users. The training will build the skills of selected journalists in writing knowledgably and mindfully about road safety. The journalists will be helped to understand the country’s traffic laws and regulations, better enforcement and road safety management, and will be asked to incorporate these as they report their stories” (quote from proposal).

Target Group

Radio Journalists in the Western Lake Zone. The involved radio staff are from five radios: FADECO Radio, Karagwe Radio, Kasibante Radio, Radio Vision and Radio Kwizera

Actions

  • Carry out a reconnaissance study on the status quo of accidents to establish baseline data 
  • Stakeholder Meeting
  • Train journalists, reporters and presenters (40 people) to make accurate, thought-provoking and action orientated reporting, that would lead to behaviour change in road safety issues. Four days. Preparation of a manual on road safety (optional)
  • Communicate messages about road safety, through radio programmes (jingles, documentaries, features, magazines, dramas, spots). Once per week at five radio stations.
  • Road safety campaigns via local artists (songs, poems, etc.). The radio programmes will be made available on a common web portal for downloading by other community radio stations in the country.
  • Campaign Material: Produce and distribute road sign posters (5.000 copies), printing of a manual on road safety (41 pages, 2.500 copies for schools and other stakeholders), printing of reflective jackets (1.000), production of stop/go signs (200).
  • Establish and support teams of road safety ambassadors and junior patrols in schools (e.g. crossing guards) – for schools along major roads in Kagera region.
  • Organize public awareness rallies and road shows on road safety in various areas of the region
  • National road safety week (FADECO RADIO ACTIVITIES)
    Organize Road show 
    Organize a Public Rally with open air performances on road safety issues
  • World road safety week (FADECO ACTIVITIES)
    Organize a public rally with public addresses on road safety
    Organize a charity function (blood donations) with stakeholders
    Organize open air demonstration of road safety tips and emergency relief operations in times of accident
  • Debriefing Meeting at the end of the project (three days?)