Welcome to the Soul City Institute website: Soul City Institute is a dynamic and innovative multi-media health promotion and social change project. Through drama and entertainment Soul City reaches more than 16 million South Africans. This is done through 2 main brands, Soul City targeted at adults and Soul Buddyz targeted at 8 – 12 year olds and adults in their lives. The second big programme that Soul City Institute is involved in is the Regional Programme which is a partnership with local organisations in 8 Southern African countries … (full text Homepage).
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Addresses: Postal Address: Soul City Institute for Health & Development Communication, P.O Box 1290, Houghton, 2041, South Africa;
Physical Address: First Floor – Dunkeld West Centre, 281 Jan Smuts Avenue (Cnr. Bompas Road), Dunkeld West, Johannesburg, South Africa;
Map and Contact.
About /Vision & Mission: Our Vision is To make an improvement in people’s health and quality of life by:
- Harnessing the power of the mass media
- Developing high quality education material through thorough research and evaluation involving the communities we serve
- While remaining an organisation not for gain, we will ensure the sustainability of our effort through sound business principles and practices
- Being strong advocates for health and development
- By measuring impact on Health and Development
- Striving for integrity, equity and respect for diversity
- Being committed to our staff and the communities we serve
- Valuing commitment and striving for excellence in all we do
Mission: To increase the national and international market’s usage and involvement in Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication (IHDC) products and services.
South Africa’s Premier Edutainment Project
The Soul City Philosophy and Methodology:
- The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication (SC IHDC) is a social change project which aims to impact on society at the individual, community and socio-political levels. SC IHDC is South Africa’s premier edutainment project. A non governmental organisation, it was established in 1992 at a time when South Africa was on the cusp of democratic change. It is a health promotion organisation, subscribing to the principles of the World Health Organisation’s Ottawa Charter. According to the Ottawa Charter, health is a product of a range of intersectoral actions that include building an enabling environment, advocacy for health public policy, community action, developing personal skills and reorientating the health services towards the health promotion approach.
- While many health projects focus on influencing the individual alone, Soul City IHDC views good health as a product not simply of individual choices, but as the product of an enabling environment in which the structural barriers to achieving health and development are removed.
- Soul City IHDC also views health and development as integrally related: poor health impedes development and development is central to improving global health.
- The diagram below represents the edutainment model that The Soul City IHDC uses to inform its programming. Edutainment has been defined as the art of integrating social issues into popular and high-quality entertainment formats, based on a thorough research process. SC IHDC uses prime time television and radio dramas to engage mass audiences in a powerful way.
Key Principles Of Our Approach:
- Developing effective educational media is not just about what you do but how you do it. Two elements, research and the creation of partnerships are at the heart of our approach.
- Research. Through vigorous research SC IHDC consults both audiences and experts. All materials are thoroughly tested with audiences to ensure that the materials are effective. Through formative research the lived experiences and voices of the communities are captured, giving the materials resonance and credibility.
- Partnerships. Materials are developed in partnership with organisations active in the issues dealt with. This ensures shared ownership and involvement ensuring the material are both appropriate and will be used. Where possible, programmes are integrated into wider local initiatives and strategies to achieve maximum impact.
Additional principles that govern our work include: … (full text).