The Soul City Regional Programme aims to adapt Soul City media (TV, radio and print) in 8 sub-saharan African countries and to provide systematic training in the development of a multi-media health initiative. It is a 5 year programme funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE), the British Department For International Development (DFID) and the European Union. The programme is working with local partners in Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Malawi. We are in the process of finding appropriate partners in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Each local partner will identify core Soul City material (radio, TV, and print) that they wish to adapt in their country.

Alongside the media development programme Soul City will provide training in the 8 countries to build and empower local capacity to develop multi-media health communications.

The following indicators have been developed to help map out and manage the project over the next 5 years.

1. Build Soul City capacity: Build Soul City Regional Programme Unit capacity (individuals and systems) to develop and manage the regional programme
The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication (IHDC) is developing its own management capacity and systems to manage the programme.

2. Establish and build local partner capacity: Identify and build capacity among local partners to do edutainment, develop media and do research and advocacy in a networked and sustainable fashion.
Three key areas of capacity building have been identified:

• Organisational Capacity

• Edutainment Capacity (to develop health communication)

• Product specific capacity (in radio, print and TV production)

Training will be provided in all these areas; some locally and others as core general training for all 8 countries (e.g research methodology)

3. Multi-media programme: successful media activities and campaigns among target population groups in each country.
A process has been designed for developing multi-media plans and implementation strategies for each country. The first stage of this process is for countries to become familiar with the basket of materials available from the Soul City IHDC. The next stage is for country partners to develop country profiles which provide a backdrop of health, education and social imperatives as well as profiles of the reach of the different media (radio, TV, print) in their country. This research report will form the basis of the country media plans.

4. Build effective partnerships: functional and effective partnerships need to be developed between our partners and the local health and educational sector as well as between partners and the local funding agencies.
This is an ongoing process. In the four countries where Choose Life (another Soul City IHDC project) has been implemented there is already strong buy-in and support for the Soul City programme. Once country partners have developed an overview of the media they would like to adapt over 5 years, they will consult with local stakeholders (government, NGO sector and media broadcasters and/or distributors).

5. Establish a viable network to disseminate and replicate best practice between local partners in different countries.
Partners are keen to have opportunities to learn from one another. Some of the ideas which will be explored to facilitate this process include: best practice learning events; a web based facility and a quarterly newsletter.

6. Conduct a five-year evaluation
The evaluation will be on both process and impact.