Audiovisual Materials on Avian Influenza
In February 2007, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) launched a project to create and disseminate audiovisual training materials on biosafety in an attempt to support efforts to prevent avian influenza (AI) within its 34 member countries. Made available to the public and the private sector, the radio series and videocassette are designed to help prevent an eventual outbreak of this transboundary disease in the region. The goal is to use entertaining yet educational approaches to reach small- and medium-scale producers (including those with only a few birds in their backyards), who - according to IICA - must improve their biosafety practices to keep their flocks free from avian flu or any other transmissible disease.
Communication Strategies
This risk communication initiative uses audiovisual technologies - and an "edutainment" approach - to inform people about bird flu, and to shape behaviour so as to prevent its spread. The radio series, entitled "Mas vale prevenir" ["An Ounce of Prevention"], comprises ten 6-minute chapters, in the format of a dramatisation (The series is currently only available in Spanish, but an English-language version is forthcoming.) General information on the disease, basic preventive measures, and the "correct" response in the face of an outbreak are addressed in the different chapters of the series, which can be broadcast over the radio or used in on-site training activities.
Specifically, the main character in the materials is Juan Galván, a longtime farmer with a small poultry farm somewhere in the Americas who has heard that avian flu may reach his community. When learning of the possibility of an AI outbreak, he decides to follow the advice of agricultural health specialists and take a few easy and inexpensive biosafety measures on his farm. (The strategy here involves modelling positive behaviours, in an attempt to inspire change). Recorded at the IICA studio, a group of actors of different nationalities played the different roles in the series; for example, well-known Costa Rican actor Gerardo Arce created a Juan Galván who is intended to be believable as he explains why - rather than feeling sorry tomorrow - it is better to put a few easy and inexpensive measures into practice today. An artist from Argentina living in Central America provided the music, which the organisers describe as "rooted in our folklore but played on modern musical instruments, which is representative of all of our nations, but no one in particular."
The 10-minute video "Bird Flu Prevention is Possible" also draws on local culture to inform viewers in the IICA's member countries about what the disease is, how to protect the farm (before the virus arrives), safety measures to be implemented, and the symptoms sick birds display. Men and women in indigenous and afro descendent communities show how, with a minimal investment, it is possible to prevent diseases that put not only their small farm, but also human health, at risk. The video apparently depicts scenes that could be found in any of IICA's member nations. The mini-documentary is accompanied by 3 television spots.
These materials emerge from a partnership approach; they are the result of the work of a multidisciplinary group which included the IICA's Regional Specialists in Agricultural Health and the journalists at Headquarters, located in Costa Rica. In developing the materials, they worked together to use a language that could be understood in any country and to create scenarios that would be familiar to poultry farmers in the Andean region, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. The scriptwriter reportedly drew information and ideas from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) publication "Guide to the Prevention and Control of Avian Flu in Small-scale Poultry Farming in Latin America and the Caribbean". To watch the mini-documentary "Bird Flu Prevention is Possible", or to listen to the radio series "An Ounce of Prevention" (Spanish language only), click here and scroll down to "Audiovisual material".
Specifically, the main character in the materials is Juan Galván, a longtime farmer with a small poultry farm somewhere in the Americas who has heard that avian flu may reach his community. When learning of the possibility of an AI outbreak, he decides to follow the advice of agricultural health specialists and take a few easy and inexpensive biosafety measures on his farm. (The strategy here involves modelling positive behaviours, in an attempt to inspire change). Recorded at the IICA studio, a group of actors of different nationalities played the different roles in the series; for example, well-known Costa Rican actor Gerardo Arce created a Juan Galván who is intended to be believable as he explains why - rather than feeling sorry tomorrow - it is better to put a few easy and inexpensive measures into practice today. An artist from Argentina living in Central America provided the music, which the organisers describe as "rooted in our folklore but played on modern musical instruments, which is representative of all of our nations, but no one in particular."
The 10-minute video "Bird Flu Prevention is Possible" also draws on local culture to inform viewers in the IICA's member countries about what the disease is, how to protect the farm (before the virus arrives), safety measures to be implemented, and the symptoms sick birds display. Men and women in indigenous and afro descendent communities show how, with a minimal investment, it is possible to prevent diseases that put not only their small farm, but also human health, at risk. The video apparently depicts scenes that could be found in any of IICA's member nations. The mini-documentary is accompanied by 3 television spots.
These materials emerge from a partnership approach; they are the result of the work of a multidisciplinary group which included the IICA's Regional Specialists in Agricultural Health and the journalists at Headquarters, located in Costa Rica. In developing the materials, they worked together to use a language that could be understood in any country and to create scenarios that would be familiar to poultry farmers in the Andean region, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. The scriptwriter reportedly drew information and ideas from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) publication "Guide to the Prevention and Control of Avian Flu in Small-scale Poultry Farming in Latin America and the Caribbean". To watch the mini-documentary "Bird Flu Prevention is Possible", or to listen to the radio series "An Ounce of Prevention" (Spanish language only), click here and scroll down to "Audiovisual material".
Development Issues
Health.
Key Points
IICA is the specialised agency for agriculture and the rural milieu of the Inter-American System, whose purpose is to provide technical cooperation to the Member States [located in the Americas, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe (Spain)], with a view to achieving their sustainable development.
In response to requests from its Member States, IICA defined an institutional policy and mapped out strategic actions to prevent AI, one of which is the development of these materials, which are being made available to the governments and poultry organisations in the Americas. IICA indicates that it will be up to authorities and organisations in the countries to decide how and when to use these communication and training tools, without arousing unfounded or unnecessary fears among producers and consumers.
In response to requests from its Member States, IICA defined an institutional policy and mapped out strategic actions to prevent AI, one of which is the development of these materials, which are being made available to the governments and poultry organisations in the Americas. IICA indicates that it will be up to authorities and organisations in the countries to decide how and when to use these communication and training tools, without arousing unfounded or unnecessary fears among producers and consumers.
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