Challenge

Due to the lack of mainstreamed reading culture within Afghan society, many children have few opportunities to engage with books at home, severely limiting their literacy skills and also depriving them of the unique childhood experience of enjoying reading with family.

The Afghan Ministry of Education has launched a new Early Grade Reading (EGR) approach for public schools, but low awareness and understanding among parents and teachers of the new approach threatens to limit its success.

Methodologies

• We developed a mixed-methods methodology using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather actionable insights.

• Through interviews with subject-matter experts, discussions with Afghan parents and teachers, and a survey of parents to identify the barriers to accompanying children reading, our team uncovered social and behavioral barriers that limit children’s literacy.

• Our participatory approach enabled us to gather feedback and input from a wide range of stakeholders, including the Afghan Ministry of Education. These workshops provided validation and nuance to further ground our research in evidence.

• Based on the research insights we drafted a Visibility/Social and Behavioral Change Strategy that outlined a communications-based approach to encourage a culture of reading in Afghan homes.

Our Social And Behavioural Insight

To effectively generate social and behavioral change around reading practices, we examined the reasons why some parents read to their children more than others. Parents who read to their children:

• Were more likely to be literate

• Reported that they felt they had the capacity (self-efficacy) to do so

• Were more likely to believe that others would approve of reading to children

• Were more likely to believe in the importance of reading to children

The research also showed that:

• Respondents in Nangarhar:

  • Were more religious than those in Herat

  • Valued the education in madrasas more than the education in public schools

  • Believed that “God’s will” determines whether their children would have a better life

• Respondents in Herat said that education would give their children a chance at a better life

• Children’s gender did not affect parents’ responses

• The price of children’s books was not a main barrier to purchasing books

• Respondents did not think there is any stigma against reading to children

• Community elders were considered to be strong influencers in Herat; religious leaders were considered to be strong influencers in Nangarhar

What We Did

Based on the results of the behavioral research, Magenta drafted a Social and Behavioral Change (SBC) Strategy that outlined a framework to address the challenges. 

The strategy guided the design of IQRAA Afghanistan: A National, Two-Year Awareness Campaign, informed by SBC insights with the following objectives: 

1. Enhance the early grade reading culture in Afghan households
   

2. Increase parents’ support for the new EGR model 
   

3. Improve teachers’ implementation of the new EGR model
    

Iqraa Afghanistan

The campaign will be implemented across Afghanistan over a 2-year period, with activities on a national level as well as at the local level in Kabul, Herat, Nangarhar, and Laghman provinces.

Key Principles

• At the center of the campaign strategy is a ”magnet” that will draw an audience to a specific event, from where key messages can then be transmitted 

• Use trusted voices and platforms 

• Repeat key messages in various forms and through multiple channels 

• Use tailored local and relevant content and messaged

   

Key Activities

• TV drama series and talk show

• Radio talk show

• Children’s reading festival

• Mobile theatres

• SMS/IVR

• Social Media campaign

• Edutainment

• TV and Radio PSAs

• Campaign Ambassadors:

  • Campaign Ambassadors play a crucial role in promoting the campaign and putting it on the national agenda. As part of the campaign plan, MAGENTA produced a shortlist of potential Ambassadors who would serve as representatives for the campaign and promote the campaign to their fans and through their personal social media and official campaign media.

Social Media

Social media is a cornerstone of the campaign’s content dissemination and will be used to engage different audiences. Dissemination will take place on:

• Facebook

  • Targeting parents, teachers and extended families

• Twitter

  • Policy and decision makers regarding education in Afghanistan

Creative Concepts

MAGENTA conceptualised creative concepts for campaign content. The concepts were based on the strategy’s key principles:

• Use trusted voices and platforms

• Repeat key messages in various forms and through multiple channels

• Use tailored local and relevant content and message

The creative concepts used a range of multimedia to engage the target audience in an engaging and multifaceted way.

• Iqraa Afghanistan launch video

  • The launch video is the first glimpse that the public receive of the campaign, forming initial opinions and perceptions, engaging parents and those working on implementing the EGR model

• Ambassador photo and video shoot 

  • An initial photoshoot provides the campaign with a library of photos to use throughout the campaign for various promotional graphics

  • An video shoot to introduce each Ambassador to the campaign’s audience as a supporter of literacy in Afghanistan  

• Outreach photo and videos

  • Documentary style content to document educational outreach events

• Ministry of Education video

  • A video to share and support the Ministry’s communications efforts and explain the activities and actions of the Ministry of Education to combat illiteracy. 

• Animation

  • A fun visual way to show parents how they can help their children start reading