Learning by Ear

The series aims to make issues around themes such as globalisation, civil society, health, environment, and the status of women and girls accessible and entertaining as well as informative. Each programme provides a mix of in-depth reports, radio dramas, and feature stories. The programmes provide practical advice on topics like education and careers, socio-political challenges for young women, and possibilities for political participation. Listeners can participate by sending comments via short message service (SMS), email, and telephone.

The programmes are based around 10 key themes:

• Globalisation in Africa: these programmes aim to analyse the different faces of globalisation in Africa. Reporters speak with people who have left their homes to seek a better life, introduce listeners to African entrepreneurs who benefit from a globalised economy, and look at how agriculture is changing under its influence.
• General Knowledge: these programmes explore the many mysteries that are not necessarily discussed in school - for example, how plastic bags are made and why they can become an environmental hazard, or why potatoes soften when they are boiled (whereas eggs get hard).
• Africa's Environment: these programmes explore the relationship between people and the environment in Africa. This theme includes a radio drama that focuses on 4 high school students on their quest to understand the environment around them.
• Women and Girls in Africa: these programmes illustrate the plights and rights of girls through a series of radio dramas that revolve around girls and their daily challenges.
• HIV/AIDS: these programmes look at the risks of contracting HIV and how to prevent it. They provide listeners with information about living with HIV and living with people with HIV.
• Health: this theme involves a radio drama that accompanies 5 boys who have just started to live on their own. They identify health threats in and around their house and find simple ways to avoid them.
• Jobs and Training: these shows provide practical advice on finding the right career, interviews with people from various professions, and information about financing a university education, surviving job interviews, and preparing for campus or college life. This theme also has a radio drama that follows a young girl who moves from the countryside to pursue a degree in agriculture.
• Civil Society: these programmes examine how civil society can help alleviate poverty and promote reconciliation, and takes listeners from Liberia to Kenya to see how ordinary people are fighting for a new Africa.
• Political Participation: a programme called "family affairs - how to become a political player" takes listeners inside the daily life of an ordinary African family and shows how political decisions occur in everyday situations. The programme follows 3 siblings pursuing their personal dreams.
• Computer and Internet Use: these shows provide practical knowledge about computers and the internet, from finding the right computer or cyber cafe to using the internet for e-learning, conducting research, or finding friends all over the world.

The programmes may be listened to on the Deutsche Welle website.

Education, Youth