BBC WST - Education

Global sex education with Sexwise

Sexwise is a global sex education project organised by BBC World Service Trust and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). This project was founded on the principle that many millions of people still lack basic information, education and support concerning their sexual and reproductive health. Sexwise has been running for three years on BBC World Service airwaves across 22 languages.

23 million people in Africa are infected with AIDS or HIV – this crucial health issue is one of the focus points of phase three of the Sexwise project which comes to an end in November. Through books, radio and the internet, Sexwise provides accurate information about sexual health and development and practical means of seeking advice and support due to its links with the IPPF on the ground.

The final phase of this project is almost complete. In response to the programmes, thousands of listeners have requested the Sexwise booklet in their own language. In this phase, programmes and booklets have been made in Spanish, Portuguese for Brazil, English, French for Africa, Hausa, Portuguese for Africa, Swahili, Indonesian, Mandarin and Vietnamese and Arabic. The website offers information, audio, sexual health news, and the booklet in 22 languages.

Sexwise on the BBC World Service Trust website

Tobacco on Trial

For the first time in history the world's governments look set to take concerted action against tobacco. Negotiations start this October on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - a legally binding international treaty pioneered by the World Health Organisation.

The BBC sent a team of reporters to explore the world of tobacco at this critical moment in history. They chose four countries that represent the current state of a global industry that employs 30 million people in the making of a product which has serious health implications world-wide. The countries are; USA, Malawi, India and Hungary. In the first of the series, presenter Magenta Devine travels to the tobacco plantations of Malawi and interviews tobacco farmers, aid workers, and children employed on the plantations. She also questions government officials about their stance towards the WHO's framework Convention on Tobacco due to be introduced in 2003. The series will be broadcast on the English Network, with other programmes scheduled for the Arabic, Thai, Hindi, Bengali, Spanish and Africa language services.

Tobacco On Trial on the BBC World Service Trust website.

I have a right to . . .

This BBC World Service landmark human rights project will broadcast radio series in English, Albanian, Serbian, Russian, Turkish, Mandarin, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish for the Americas, Arabic, Hausa, Swahili and English for Africa with a potential audience of 125 million for Services broadcasting in these languages. The series will leave the listeners with an enhanced awareness of their own rights, an increased understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and up-to-date picture of human rights issues in their region.

The radio programmes will engage listeners as individuals. They will do this by focusing on ordinary people who describe how they have achieved advancements in human rights issues and have made something happen. There will be seminars and panel discussions in five countries to raise the debate nationally about human rights issues, and these will also feature in the programmes.

Funded by the Human Rights Policy Department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, “I have a right to . . .” will be launched with a series in English to be broadcast from Friday 13th October 2000 on the main English World Service network. The website will be live at the beginning of October.

Click here to view more information.

Children's Radio Service in Refugee Camps

Six radio series will be produced in Pashto, Persian, Portuguese for Africa, Somali, Azeri and Nepali for broadcast from November 2000. The programmes are for children living in refugee camps. They will draw from the children's cultural experiences and aim to enrich the lives of the children and, through them, the lives of their parents.

Each series will cover a range of accessible learning topics, conveyed in engaging story formats appropriate for a child audience. Each programme will contain a ‘local' element directly from the camp, including reports from the children themselves. Working closely with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) on the ground, this radio project aims to add a new dimension to the important support work already happening in camps for children.

History of Africa from an African Perspective

Twenty five programmes will be produced by the BBC World Service English for the Africa Service for transmission in January 2001. This will be the first major broadcasting initiative to redress some of the more Euro-centric analysis of Africa's past, giving due prominence to the contribution Africa has made to human history. A website will also be created and will serve as a permanent educational resource making available to a wide audience the BBC's unique archive of material on Africa. The project is funded by the Rockefeller foundation.

For more information on the WST Education initiatives contact: Karen.merkel@bbc.co.uk