Bruktawit Tigabu Tadesse - Co-founder, Whizz Kids - DFID Girl Summit 2014

"The parents and the community gather around and watch this film.... They see the transformation and they are really amazed." Bruktawit Tigabu Tadesse

Panel Discussion: Spotlight on Progress "Brands, Media and Communications: Powerful Tools to Shift Social Norms for Girls"

Context: This presentation is from one of the 14 "Spotlights on Progress" video-recorded sessions from the Girl Summit 2014, London, United Kingdom (UK). The sessions were organised to share best practice between practitioners, grassroots activists, and government ministers across the issues of female genital mutilation (FGM) (also FGM/C - female genital mutilation/cutting) and child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM). Girl Summit is a project of the Department for International Development (DFID), UK.

Profile of speaker: A featured panelist of this Spotlight session was Bruktawit Tigabu Tadesse, Co-founder, Whizz Kids, whose presentation was entitled "Involve Me Watch Me - Whizz Kids Workshop, Ethiopia." Ms. Tigabu Tadesse was awarded top honours at a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) international film contest held in Japan. The winning film entitled ‘Involve Me - Yemeserach’ featured the story of Yemeserach, 14, who fled her village to escape a marriage arranged by her father. The subject of the film, Yemeserach, received video production training in Ethiopia as part of the global One Minutes Junior project, which was initiated by the European Cultural Foundation, the One Minutes Foundation, and UNICEF to encourage youth self-expression and participation. "Whizz Kids Workshop took an active role at the training, with financial support from Save the Children Denmark. The workshop is a non-governmental organization based in Ethiopia that believes mass media can be the most cost-effective and immediate way to make an impact on large educational gaps in the developing world."

Strategy overview: Tigabu Tadesse spoke about Whizz Kids Ethiopia and how this social business uses media to empower young people, producing TV programmes for children aged 3 and up. They produce 3 TV shows on Ethiopia TV.

They sought ways to involve children in the creating of the show to give girls a voice. The method chosen was to train them to make short films. They worked with Save the Children and trained about 200 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds (80% of them girls, many between 11 and 15 years of age), supporting them to learn to use cameras to make one-minute films about issues in their own lives, including child marriage. 

Meanwhile, a crew was filming the process to document how the young people came up with stories and what was meaningful to them, e.g., the right to education, the right to decide on their path in life, and the right not to marry early. The story in the prize winning film highlighted children’s work in addressing issues such as exploitation and early marriage (available here).

The children have had this platform for their voices for three years (as of 2014). Due to research that shows the need for support for girls to tell their stories, the workshop brings in prominent women to work as role models and to coach girls in the preparation of their stories. There were community screenings of the films and discussions, particularly with the parents and communities of the children, and the films are also broadcast via Ethiopia TV, which reaches about 10 million people.

Overview of this Summit session: From the Girl Summit summary document: "New and traditional media, brand platforms and communications strategies are proven tools that have triggered discussions and shifted perceptions. Speakers will give examples of how these tools are being used to change how girls see themselves and are perceived in their communities, as well to elevate the dialogue on key issues to national levels and beyond."

The speakers, in order of appearance, are:

Susan Shabangu, Minister of Women in the Presidency, South Africa.

Daniela Colombo, President, AIDOS - Italian Association for Women in Development.

Dr. Ben Cislaghi, Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning, Tostan.

Bruktawit Tigabu Tadesse, Co-founder, Whizz Kids.

Efua Dorkenoo, Programme Director, End FGM/C Social Change Campaign.

Poonam Muttreja (Executive Director, Population Foundation of India.

Kate Wedgwood (Country Director, Girl Hub Rwanda) .

Dr Amal Mahmoud Abdalla (Secretary General of National Council for Child Welfare).

The session is moderated by Eric Levine, Interim CEO Stars Foundation."

Footage of this (available below) and other "Spotlights" are available on DFID’s YouTube channel.

The Girl Summit is a project of DFID. Click here and scroll down to see the full list of individuals and organisations committed to working on girls' issues, as well as a list of Girl Summit Charter signatories.