East Africa: Children’s television and network building

DW-AKADEMIE’s new project in East Africa focuses on developing television programs for – and with – children. The project aims to produce high-quality programs with new formats that not only entertain children but also provide them with learning opportunities. Additional creative groups and organizations will be involved as well, in order to create an ongoing dialogue. The stations themselves are also interested in exchanging children’s programs with one another. This is a new concept in a region linked by Kiswahili, a language widely spoken there.

In early July staff from the participating stations met at DW-AKADEMIE in Berlin and went on to visit two German public television stations: ZDF and the children’s channel, KiKa. They returned home with new ideas and initial concepts. In August, teams of three trainers each traveled to the partner stations in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The second phase of the project focused on the technical and planning basics of children’s programming as well the production of initial programs. Editors, camera operators and management staff attended the workshops and learned about conceptualizing and implementing formats suitable for children.

“Creativity, approaching children in a playful way, and putting children at the center of the programs were an important part of the training sessions,” says project manager, Natascha Swanke. In one program, for example, a young boy presents his hometown, Bagamoyo, and this way tells his own story. “The new programs aim to portray children’s realities and strengthen their own identity,” Schwanke adds. The project is scheduled to run until mid-2012, by which time each station should have its own format that can be produced and broadcast on a weekly basis and be made available to the other stations for airing.