Media Impact and Fundación Social Launch Four Youth Programs in Colombia
PCI-Media Impact (Media Impact) and Fundación Social have partnered to launch four new Entertainment-Education (E-E) initiatives to promote youth participation in the design of community development plans throughout Colombia. Entertainment-Education is the purposeful incorporation of educational content into entertaining media to simultaneously inform and amuse audiences. A quality of life survey led by DANE, the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (National Administrative Department of Statistics), showed that in Colombia, 66.27% of the population from 0 to 26 years of age lives in extreme poverty. These youth not only face the consequences of living without the support from the government, but also “temptations” offered by drug dealers, guerrilla fighters and gangs. The initiative specifically targets nearly 100,000 youth in four regions of Colombia – Bogotá, Ibagué, Pasto and Union and Barbosa – all of which have been identified by Fundación Social as high priority areas. The total population of these four regions is more than 2.2 million people. The program will use a variety of media to give legitimacy to youth cultural expressions in their communities; encourage youth participation in community development planning; and promote peaceful co-existence for citizen.