Talking Books for the Hard-to-Reach

A general consensus exists that Ugandans, especially rural populations, are insufficiently equipped with knowledge, skills and motivation to exercise their civil rights and fulfil their civic responsibilities. This has been corroborated by different researches and there exists empirical evidence to show that the citizens face several social and economic challenges, including poverty, unemployment, and inadequate public services, such as healthcare, education, and clean water. While the efforts of the government and some civil society organisations are commendable, the overall impact of civic education programming has been limited. This has hindered progress of community development initiatives for community members to work together to improve their living conditions.

Many of the agencies working on civic education have been using traditional methods such as posters, workshops, radio programs, to enhance civic education but have had inadequate impact on communities because of the poor reading culture, low motivation, limited coverage of electronic media and electricity and the high illiteracy levels creating a huge knowledge gap in hard to reach areas in Uganda.

Our solution is  using the Amplio Talking Books to address this knowledge gap in rural and hard to reach Ugandan communities in Uganda to empower teachers, learners and parents with knowledge, skills, and tools to take civic action and promote community development initiatives within their communities. 

The Amplio Talking Book (ATB) is a digital technology designed to reach remote, under-served, illiterate populations that are often missed by other communications for development initiatives. Talking Books are designed to overcome barriers like low literacy, local languages, lack of electricity, lack of internet connectivity, and traditional gender norms that often limit access to information and technology. Talking Books can be used to deliver hours of local language audio content on any topic. Users can play messages on demand and record their feedback. A built-in speaker allows families and groups to listen, discuss, and learn together. As a result, people gain new skills and knowledge to improve their lives.

 Talking Books enable one to listen to messages on different topics. The listener can also record themselves giving feedback, testimonies or asking questions about the program. The gender-inclusive devices have symbols and inbuilt system prompts that can be set in the native language of the target audience making them user-friendly irrespective of age, sex, literacy levels and physical disability or impairment. They are rechargeable and have a provision of using batteries making them ideal for areas that have no power connection. They can store hours and hours of audio content that can be listened to anytime anywhere. Using an application uploaded on a smartphone or a computer, the Talking Books are able to capture and analyse user-feedback which aids monitoring and evaluation of the program. Besides the other existing communication channels, the Talking books have the ability to enter a household and enable everyone access information together at any time. Aimed at creating mind-set change among teachers, learners and parents by promoting access to critical information on civic education, the Talking Book Project utilises the approach of: Listening, Discussion, Action and Sustainability. The project will involve procurement of the Talking Book devices, conducting a formative research, development and production of audio content on civic education, mapping of communities and schools, and training of teachers on usage of the devices and how to conduct listening and discussion group sessions at school level, community level and household level.

The Talking Books will serve remote, under-served, illiterate populations that are often missed by other communications for development initiatives. Talking Books are designed to overcome barriers like low literacy, local languages, lack of electricity, lack of internet connectivity, and traditional gender norms that often limit access to information and technology.

Specifically the project will target women, youths and children who are often disadvantaged when it comes to access to information though available media such as radio since the radio is still traditionally controlled my men within households. Men will also be targeted for mindset change and for purposed or rallying them to support women, youth and children in development initiatives within their households and communities

The target populations will be able to;

-Have access to critical information at ease

-Have access to information in their native languages

-Have increased knowledge in their civil rights and responsibilities

-Be able to demand for accountability from their leaders

-Be able to follow up and monitor on community projects being implemented within their communities

-Be engaged in community based development initiatives

-Engage in activities that improve their household income

As the team leader, I am a native of Kigezi region in southwestern Uganda bordering The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. I was born and raised in this area and  personally experienced the struggles to access to services like education, health and clean water from my childhood until now. I used to walk for a distance of 4 kilo metres everyday on barefoot to access education for 7 years in primary school. Orphaned at at early age of 11 years, I and 6 of my siblings were left in the hands of a mother who did not attain an education that would provide her a job. She was a mere substance farmer. Access to funds for school fees was a big problem and as pupils, we were always sent away from school to look for school fees during a time towards examinations. Somehow, I was able to sail through primary education, secondary education and later attained a university degree. In my village, this was a miracle because during that time, obtaining a degree was a rare case. While growing up as pupils, we never had access to news papers; radio was controlled by our father who usually listened to BBC radio in English while we couldn't understand and whenever we had a chance to listen to the radio in his absence, affording batteries was a problem. I believe that if there was any technology that could grant us access to information within our rural and hard to reach setting, we would be better people living in better communities.

Besides the above, I am  a skilled writer, content developer, editor, producer, theatre and film maker and social behaviour change communication specialist with over 15 years’ experience in development communication and education; a graduate of Performing Arts from Makerere University, a specialist in Community theatre, children’s theatre and puppetry. I have consulted on a number of communication campaigns targeting children, women and men as a content, script writer and producer. Currently, I have a working relationship with The Amplio Network, a not for profit Organization based in Seattle in the US that is the brain behind The Talking Books technology. Currently, I am Amplio's representative in Uganda having implemented a successful pilot talking book project in rural west Nile on creating awareness on women and men's land and property rights.

I work with a team of digital and creative and digital artists who equally are experienced and motivated to implement this project. With the above experience, I believe that my team and will execute this project to satisfaction.

The target audience will be engaged from the inception of the project to the implementation and evaluation. A formative research will be conducted to identify knowledge gaps audience preferences. The audio content will be developed and disseminated in the native language of the targeted audience to enhance understanding and effective discussion. They will participate in the translation, review, production and actual community activities and finally evaluation of the project impact.

In 2022, I was engaged by The Amplio Network as a social behavior change Consultant to implement a pilot of the Talking Book project by FAO in rural west Nile region in Uganda. The project was aimed at promoting women's land and property rights.

Throughout the implementation of the pilot project, I was intrigued at the impact the Talking Book device had in the rural communities in as far as access to critical information is concerned. It being a pilot, it ended after one year. However, as a person who grew up from hard to reach and rural areas, I felt the need to use the talking books to help my people have access to information that will help them steer development within their communities. 

This prompted me to search for any funding opportunities that may arise on google engine and thereby landing on Solve's 2023 challenge. After reading about it, I realised its the opportunity I would utilise to fulfill my dream to help my people in rural Kigezi region to access critical information using the Talking Books in order to deal with the high levels of poverty.

A general consensus exists that Ugandans, especially rural populations, are insufficiently equipped with knowledge, skills and motivation to exercise their civil rights and fulfil their civic responsibilities. This has been corroborated by different researches and there exists empirical evidence to show that the citizens face several social and economic challenges, including poverty, unemployment, and inadequate public services, such as healthcare, education, and clean water. While the efforts of the government and some civil society organisations are commendable, the overall impact of civic education programming has been limited. This has hindered progress of community development initiatives for community members to work together to improve their living conditions.

Many of the agencies working on civic education have been using traditional methods such as posters, workshops, radio programs, to enhance civic education but have had inadequate impact on communities because of the poor reading culture, low motivation, limited coverage of electronic media and electricity and the high illiteracy levels creating a huge knowledge gap in hard to reach areas in Uganda.

It is against this background that we propose to a technology-based solution of using the Talking Books to address this knowledge gap in Kigezi region by empowering teachers, learners and parents with knowledge, skills, and tools to take civic action and promote community development initiatives within their communities.

The Talking Books are very easy-to-use audio devices designed to share information and knowledge in hard to reach areas. Talking Books enable one to listen to messages on different topics. The listener can also record themselves giving feedback, testimonies or asking questions about the program. The gender-inclusive devices have symbols and inbuilt system prompts that can be set in the native language of the target audience making them user-friendly irrespective of age, sex, literacy levels and physical disability or impairment. They are rechargeable and have a provision of using batteries making them ideal for areas that have no power connection. They can store hours and hours of audio content that can be listened to anytime anywhere. Using an application uploaded on a smartphone or a computer, the Talking Books are able to capture and analyse user-feedback which aids monitoring and evaluation of the program. Besides the other existing communication channels, the Talking books have the ability to enter a household and enable everyone access information together at any time.

Aimed at creating mind-set change among teachers, learners and parents by promoting access to critical information on civic education, the Talking Book Project utilises the approach of: Listening, Discussion, Action and Sustainability. The project will involve procurement of the Talking Book devices, conducting a formative research, development and production of audio content on civic education, mapping of communities and schools, and training of teachers on usage of the devices and how to conduct listening and discussion group sessions at school level, community level and household level.

1. Promote access to critical information on civic education that will create a mind-set change in as far as attitudes, practices and beliefs among people in hard to reach areas are concerned.

This will be achieved through the provision of the Talking Book devices to learners in schools and parents through their community groups within the villages.  The Talking Books will be loaded with audio content on civic education as playlists (deployments of 10 messages on different topics per quarter). A formative research will be conducted to identify knowledge gaps audience preferences. The audio content will be developed and disseminated in the native language of the targeted audience to enhance understanding and effective discussion. The content will be developed to captivate, educate, inspire, motivate and above all, entertain the listener.  The listening and discussion will be conducted in groups at school, community and household level. Teachers will be trained to be the facilitators of the listening and discussion sessions both at school and in the communities. During the weekly listening and discussion sessions, a single message on an independent topic will be listened to and discussed by members. Besides group listening and discussion sessions, the different households will have a chance to access a Talking Book within their household for a number of days at a rotational basis to be able to listen and discuss together and develop a plan to put in place their resolutions.

2. Empower community members to demand for accountability from the technical and political leadership and advocate for better service delivery

A facilitator’s guide to be used by teachers will be developed based on the audio content uploaded onto the talking books. This guide will contain a set of questions to guide a discussion by members after listening to a message. The last question will be asking members to come up with action points regarding what they have learnt and a work plan with clear timelines and responsible persons (Small committee) to steer the actions. For example, if a message on the Talking Book is a testimony where in a certain community, the government was supposed to release funds to construct a maternity ward block at their health centre; the community members were able to follow up and be part of the whole process of construction and at the end a deserving block was constructed to the required standards; the facilitator will put to task the members to also plan to do the same on any development initiatives being done within their community.

3. Activate community based development initiatives aimed at improving household income, education, better health and wellbeing.

Through their action plans, members will come up with community development initiatives such as, renovating school blocks, improving their health centres, income generating initiatives and others

1. Promote access to critical information on civic education that will create a mind-set change in as far as attitudes, practices and beliefs are concerned.

# of people who are informed and aware of their civil rights and responsibilities

# of people constantly engaged in a search for information on social, political and economic issues

# of people aware of their civic duties and responsibilities and sharing information with others

2. Empower community members to demand for accountability from the technical and political leadership and advocate for better service delivery

# of people informed about development ventures implemented by the government in their communities

# of people demanding for accountability from their leaders on community development projects

# of people willing to participate in electoral processes to elect leaders to can ably represent them without being coerced

# people who follow up development projects being implemented by the government in their communities

# of people willing to report any cases of corruption or misuse of public funds and resorces

3. Activate community based development initiatives aimed at improving household income, education, better health and wellbeing.

# people willing to participate in community based development projects at community level

# people implementing income generating projects to improve household income

# people willing and determined to keep their children in school

The Talking book project’s goals will be achieved through the provision of the Talking Book devices to learners and parents. A formative research will be conducted to identify knowledge gaps and audience preferences and this will inform the development of a communication strategy. The communication strategy will be the basis of the content development.  The scripts for the content developed will be written in English, reviewed, approved and translated into the native language(s). The scripts will be produced into audio messages in the native language(s). The audio content will be uploaded into the talking books in deployments at a quarterly basis which will be distributed to the mapped out communities and schools. Training will be held to equip teachers with knowledge and skills to use the devices and conduct group listening and discussion sessions at school, community and household level.  Besides group listening and discussion sessions, households will have a chance to access a Talking Book for a number of days at a rotational basis. Throughout the implementation of the project, a midline survey will be conducted to measure progress and also inform any necessary changes to ensure that the goals of the project are met. At the end of the project, an end line survey will be conducted to measure impact of the project vis a vis the impact goals set at the inception.

Activities

1. Conduct formative research
2. Develop a communication strategy
3. Procure Talking Book Devices
4. Develop content for talking Books
5. Write scripts in English
6. Translate scripts into native languages
7. Produce the scripts into audio messages
8. Map out communities and schools
9. Upload audio content onto the devices
10. Train teachers on TB usage and how to conduct listening sessions
11. Distribute TBs to schools and communities
12. Conduct listening and discussion sessions
13. Conduct monitoring and support supervision
14. Conduct midline survey
15. Conduct end line survey

Outputs

1. Formative research report
2. Communication strategy document
3. # Talking Book Devices procured
4. # scripts of English messages
5. # scripts of translated messages into native language
6. # minutes of recorded and post produced audio content on civic education
7. # teachers trained from 4 sub counties selected from Rubanda and Kisoro Districts
8. # Talking Books distributed to # schools/communities per sub county
9. # Listening and discussion activities
10. Midline survey report
11. End line survey report

Outcomes

1. Increased knowledge on civil rights and civic responsibilities in communities
2. Improved service delivery in communities
3. Increased community engagement in planning, implementation and accountability of public resources
4. Increased community development initiatives
5. Increased literacy in technology embracement in communities
6. Increased households planning and working together to improve their wellbeing

Targeted Audiences

Primary: Learners and parents Secondary: Teachers and community leaders

The core technology that powers our solution lies in the use of an audio device that powered by an internal rechargeable battery, with also a provision of alkaline D and AA batteries. The device has inbuilt system prompts and external buttons marked with common symbols that make them user-friendly and can capture recordings from listeners in form of user feedback. The device works with an application that is uploaded on a smart phone or a computer. This application (Amplio ACM and TB Loader) enables the uploading of audio content into the devices using a USB Cable, collection and management of statistics or user feedback obtained from the users.

Manufactured by Amplio an American no-for-profit organisation based in Seattle, the device is called a Talking Book. The Talking Book targets rural populations with low literacy rates, high poverty rates, not connected to the power grid with poor road network that makes them hard to reach. They also target marginalised community members such as women, youths, children and PWDs who have limited access to critical information.

The Talking Books are very easy-to-use audio devices designed to share information and knowledge in hard to reach areas. Talking Books enable one to listen to messages on different topics. The listener can also record themselves giving feedback, testimonies or asking questions about the program. The gender-inclusive devices have symbols and inbuilt system prompts that can be set in the native language of the target audience making them user-friendly irrespective of age, sex, literacy levels and physical disability or impairment. They are rechargeable and have a provision of using batteries making them ideal for areas that have no power connection. They can store hours and hours of audio content that can be listened to anytime anywhere. Using an application uploaded on a smartphone or a computer, the Talking Books are able to capture and analyse user-feedback which aids monitoring and evaluation of the program. Besides the other existing communication channels, the Talking books have the ability to enter a household and enable everyone access information together at any time. The devices have a shelf life of 10 years; can be easily operated by anyone irrespective of age, sex, or literacy level. Specific for the Kigezi community, the Talking Book will bridge the gap of inadequate access to information by women and children because the commonest source of information in rural areas is radio, which is up to now still controlled by men within the household.

Our diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

AD Creatrix was orchestrated in 2016 as a creative, media and communications consultancy firm registered by law no. 225005. We create evidence based content, develop, produce and distribute innovative media and communication content and products ranging from print communication materials, behaviour change based radio serial dramas, radio spots, TV serial dramas, films, music, documentaries, theatre, puppet shows, and children’s theatre to community theatre. We are located on plot 101d Ntinda-Kigowa road, Ntinda Kampala. We are a hub of skilled and experienced content creators, script writers, editors, illustrators, graphic designers, producers, translators, voice artists, actors, cameramen, puppeteers, animators, social behaviour change specialists and all artists in the digital and creative arts.

AD Creatrix Limited is a for profit consultancy firm but runs a social enterprise where artists get together to implement non-profit oriented projects focused on improving the wellbeing of communities using digital and creative arts. The Talking Book project is one of the non-profit social enterprises we are proposing to implement.

Our mission is to be the leading creator and distributor of superlative results-oriented media and communication content and products while our vision is a better world out of creativity and innovation in communication and entertainment. Our core values are Creativity, Innovation, Integrity and Teamwork. We uphold the principle of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Our approach to work considers skill, experience and qualification irrespective of race, colour, sex, gender identity, religion, disability, age, nationality, ethnicity or ancestry. We acknowledge people’s traditional ways and respect beliefs and practices that are progressive.

Our team comprises of a cocktail of digital and creative artists from different regions, backgrounds, religions, social status and sex. 40% of our team is women while 60% is men. The reason for the imbalance is that there are fewer women qualified and interested in the performing arts that we do especially puppetry where they are recruited and drop off along the way. However, we have a strategy in place to train, recruit and motivate women into digital and performing arts to increase the percentage from 40% to 50% and above. While selecting teams for the Talking Book project, recruitment of more women, minorities such as people with disabilities will be prioritised. At AD Creatrix, we build teams that represent a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. We believe that a diverse team achieves more.

Our content is developed with a deliberate consideration of minority groups, gender, social status, literacy levels, religion, geographical location, race, et cetera. That is why we are proposing to implement the Talking Book Project to cater for marginalised communities in hard to reach areas in Uganda. Our office located on plot 101d Ntinda-Kigowa road, Ntinda Kampala that houses our audio production studio and other arts services is a single building that was constructed to be accessed by people with disabilities for inclusion purposes.

AD Creatrix Ltd is a privately owned media and communications enterprise located in Kigoowa Ntinda, Plot 101d, Ntinda-Kigowa Road, Kampala City. AD Creatrix was orchestrated in 2016 as a creative, media and communications consultancy firm registered by law no. 225005. We create, develop, produce and distribute innovative media and communication content and products ranging from behaviour change based radio serial dramas, TV serial dramas, films, documentaries, theatre, print communication materials (IEC), puppet shows, and children’s theatre to community theatre. 

We also operate a fully-fledged community engagement unit that employs innovative behaviour change based approaches ideal for social behaviour change. We operate a state of art audio and video production studio with modern equipment. We value using technology to serve our end users.

The key products of our company include; story books for children and other creative books, community theatre shows, films, radio and TV serial dramas, radio and TV commercials, puppet theatre shows and Information Education Communication materials (IEC) materials and now, Amplio Talking Books. These products utilise creative skills of specialists such as; creative writers, fine artists, graphic designers, sound editors, video editors, caricaturists, puppeteers, film and stage actors and actresses, costume designers, stage designers/carpenters, lighting and sound specialists, make-up artists, camera operators, grips, painters and more as the project execution process demands. 

We provide consultancy services to clients; instigate and run our own income generating projects and also partner with other organizations and companies to run income generating initiatives. 

As a social enterprise, this project will leverage on providing consultancy services to clients; instigate and run our own income generating projects and also partner with other organizations and companies to run revenue generating initiatives. 

For this enterprise, we shall leverage in partnerships with other organizations. For example, The Amplio Network that manufactures the Talking books. After procuring the Talking Books, Amplio will provide us with tech-support all through the project for 1 year. We shall procure the devices at a discounted price.

Also, we shall enter partnerships with schools to provide teachers who will be trained to over see the listening and discussion groups. Other partnerships will be entered with civil society organizations operating in the area of implementation. 

A memorandum of understanding will be signed with the districts through the sub counties to support this initiative.

Any funds raised will be put back into the project.

1. Through providing consultancy services to organizations to develop and produce communication materials (IEC materials, children's story books, radio serial dramas, radio programs and spots, films etc) we have been able to raise income of up to $40,000 which has been used to run the company's operations (Equipment for audio-visual production, salaries, rent, operation costs etc)

2. In 2022, we received a grant of $3000 from UNDP Uganda (UNDP Creative Challenge) to develop a story book for children to create awareness on plastic pollution

3. In 2023, we received a grant from UNESCO through UNIMA Africa commission with a theme; The Puppet of tomorrow in Africa - dramaturgies and digital experimentations; to train artists in puppetry and establish a UNIMA Centre in Africa. This project is on going.

4. As an individual consultant, I have been able to undertake a number of content creation projects where I have utilised services of AD Creatrix namely, the audio production studio. This way, the company has been able and is able to generate income.