Empowered People
Societies thrive when minoritized groups are fully included.
LGBTQ+ and Human Rights in the Caribbean
%
of listeners discussed LGBTQ+ rights
reached through social media
community theater participants
Very few Caribbean countries have laws to prevent discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, leaving many in the LGBTQ+ community with little legal protection or basis for claims. One Community, Many Voices — A Rights-based LGBTQ+ Campaign focused on shifting social norms and changing behaviors to reduce stigma, discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+, as well as improving legal protection for LGBTQ+ communities.
We developed local capacity to advocate for LGBTQ+ communities and facilitate access to resources, and increased capacity for communicating about human rights. The 21-episode education-entertainment radio drama, “iRight: Mwen Byen Fet,” portrayed the real-life challenges of discrimination and violence based on gender and sexual orientation. Listeners said that the program helped to raise awareness and normalize conversations about issues affecting many communities.
Gender-Based Violence
Latin America
implementing partners
participants in radio station-led community mobilization activities
listeners
Gender-based violence is a persistent threat in Latin America. A report by UN Women found that Latin American countries have a higher-than-average incidence of domestic violence, while 14 countries in the region – including Colombia and Bolivia – ranked within the top 25 for femicides globally.
Strong Women, Strong Voices was first implemented in 2011 in partnership with Diakonia. Coalitions in Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia produced and broadcast unique radio dramas to address critical issues of gender discrimination and domestic violence. The dramas and the coalition-building put the process of storytelling in the hands of women themselves to actively work to overcome these issues.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Global
ministries of education
followers on the Comics Uniting Nations Facebook page
views on digital platforms
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals have set the standard for the United Nations post-2015 development agenda. To achieve them, communities around the world must now be motivated to put them into practice.
Comics Uniting Nations is a partnership formed between four key agencies – PCI Media, UNICEF, The World’s Largest Lesson, and Reading with Pictures – to produce comics that share the lessons of the Sustainable Development Goals. Comic books draw in the wide-ranging audience necessary to make these goals a reality. Additional partnerships with well-known comic creators for each publication ensure that characters are recognizable. The comics are released with a Teacher’s Guide to facilitate classroom use. These comics have rapidly gained a profile within the comic book world.
Let us tell your story
Human Trafficking
Bolivia
students
school community members
broadcasts
In Bolivia, human trafficking has risen 900% over the past nine years. The practice disproportionately affects youth from lower-middle-class families. La Caldera, a 21-episode radio drama, tells the gripping stories of three characters who have all been victims of human trafficking. First aired across Bolivia in 2013, it is now being used and promoted in classrooms in border cities. La Caldera increases awareness and action around commercial human trafficking and forced labor. It targets at-risk youth from lower-middle-class families. Inspired by the drama’s characters, listeners are more prepared to raise red flags when they see signs of human trafficking in their own contexts. The show has led to an increase in the reporting of incidents.
13% of students were less vulnerable to trafficking as a result of the program.
