Afghanistan has been in a state of uninterrupted conflict due to external and internal factors for over 20 years. With educational structures, services and delivery mechanisms in a state of disrepair, innovative strategies were needed to reach and re-ignite the sense of community and learning for all members of society. It is in this context that the potential for media-technology and distance education was explored as a cost-effective way to reach and educate the maximum number of people in a terrain of scattered populations seeking peace and harmony in a country embroiled in civil strife.

UNESCO’s response and contribution to the emergency programme for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan first started in 1988, shortly prior to the Soviet withdrawal from the country. During this period, the Afghan community both within and outside Afghanistan endorsed the appeal for educational assistance. The euphoria to rebuild Afghanistan and its educational facilities prompted the United Nations to restrict assistance to Afghan refugees outside Afghanistan in order to encourage their return. It was nevertheless difficult for everyone to return due to continued conflict and civil discord in the country.

In order to provide basic education to all, UNESCO initially adopted a strategy that included a range of activities such as:

While host governments, the UNHCR, UNICEF and NGO’s undertook the education of non-returning refugees, UNESCO was pre-occupied with the question of how to reconcile the emerging vacuum of basic education in a society that was splintered. In the face of prolonged civil-strife and deteriorating state of socio-political and economic structures and stability in the country, a new strategy and approach to education was needed – one which would fulfil UNESCO’s mandate to provide basic education to "all." This meant reaching all Afghan men, women and children within the country and those sheltered without. Hence, UNESCO embraced the route of distance-education through radio – the most accessible medium of communication. In the event that the lack of radios and batteries would be an obstacle was also in the process of being resolved thanks to the invention of a wind-up radio by Trevor Baylis called Freeplay. Sixty turns of the radio handle would provide forty minutes of listening. Promoted by the BBC, the radio is being made in South Africa. The first 200 Freeplay’s were introduced in Afghanistan by an NGO called War Child.

Although there were initial misgivings and apprehensions regarding UNESCO’s proposed joint venture with the BBC, UNESCO remained confident in using the radio as a medium of instruction in Afghanistan. After all, UNESCO had played a major role in the development of educational broadcasting in Afghanistan in the early 1970s. It was therefore prepared to invest in a cost-effective technique to reach as many of the 16 million Afghan’s in Afghanistan and those in neighboring Pakistan through distance education in a soap opera format.

After evaluating the general ‘educational’ needs of a country in need of healing, a variety of themes were identified for both practical and informative purposes. These included a range of topics such as women’s issues, health care, drug abuse, mine awareness, conflict resolution, land disputes, farming advice, preservation of oral traditions and historical monuments, income-generation activities, methods for conflict resolution, community participation in development, veterinary care, livestock raising and agriculture, to personal and environmental hygiene.

It was a while after the initial situation analysis that the work for programme training and launching began in 1993. The BBC recruited one international adviser and training began for Afghan actors, scriptwriters, producers, administrators and evaluators to relay the drama-series in the two main languages of the country – Dari and Pashto. Radio Pakistan for its part had generously made available its facilities in Peshawar for staff training and production. The weekly programme is broadcast by the BBC which repeats each episode three times (morning/evening and once in an omnibus edition over the weekend (Box 1):

In addition to UNESCO, the programme received the express support and financial assistance from agencies such as UNIFEM, UNICEF, UNCDP, the BBC and the ICRC.

As an indication of costs, the soap opera was launched in the first year at an estimated US$ 425,000 of which the BBC contributed US$94,000, while the UN and other agencies gave a combined sum of US$ 331,000. UNESCO’s contribution was estimated at US$25,000.

The permanent project staff comprised an evaluation team from the very outset. Their work included visiting towns and villages inside Afghanistan on a regular basis to ensure that the story line contained educational messages relevant to the learning needs of the people. In fact, six months after the project began, it was determined that an estimated 85 – 90 per cent of the Afghan population had become regular listeners. This was encouraging for the producers.

A consultative committee consisting of Afghans, representatives of UNICEF, WHO, FAO, UNOCHA and NGOs such as Radda Barnen, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Norwegian Church Aid was also set up to review the content value of the drama series. It was part of their responsibility to make relevant recommendations in a timely manner and ensure the validity of topics selected.

The soap opera format was a deliberate choice for the programme because of the flexibility that the "genre" offers to depict real-life situations, and its capacity to carry educational messages through repetition. The portrayal of characters with everyday problems and dilemmas in the face of human conflict and tragedy provides greater credibility to the series, which has the backdrop of authentic family settings in a rural-urban environment. The emphasis on dialogue is an important conflict-resolution strategy. The protagonists thus reinforce this message as they resolve issues through discussion and dialogue. The story thus draws on peoples past and present experiences lending authenticity to the element of human adversity and struggle which has no ready-made answers to problems without discussion and deliberation.

According to perceived need, educational messages of particular interest can be broadcast through the "re-run" of particular episodes.

The programme is systematically interspersed with "reinforcement" segments that allow for in-depth discussion of a given topic. This method provides substance to an issue of particular social concern, such as the education of girls and women’s employment. An evaluation team is in constant contact with listeners at the grassroots level in order to ensure the relevance of topics as they relate to the drama and discussion.

It had already been established that the series had a wide listening audience comprising of men and women of all ages. The impact of the educational messages carried by the series however, was further confirmed after a wide public response to a particular episode on the importance of immunization (Box 2):

1. The resounding success of the radio soap opera series has
2. shown how innovative and cost-effective approaches in education can have the desired attention and response of communities even in the most unfavorable conditions.
3. The themes treated were totally situated in Afghan culture and context. This was an important factor in grasping listener attention. For example, the positive aspects of the culture such as hashar, the tradition of collective work and local jirgas or councils were evoked. Just listening to the radio drama has helped revive some of these traditions.
4. It took very careful planning and collaboration on the part of international and non-governmental agencies to make a success of this project.
5. Progress was systematically and regularly monitored.

The popularity of this radio broadcasting production has piqued the interest of other countries that find they could benefit from such an approach in education.