The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 23 sine, sees local historical sites, and vis- its development projects to converse with beneficiaries about how the proj- ects have affected their lives. USAID sponsors the show through a subcon- tract with a private Afghan television station, Tolo TV, that has its own pro- duction arm. USAID has several objectives in sponsoring the pro- gram. First, it aims to educate Afghans about their coun- try, history and culture to help build a sense of national unity and tolerance after decades of war and, often, isola- tion. The program helps “stitch together” the country, which has been rife with ethnic tensions among Hazara, Pashtun, Tajik and Uzbek groups for much of its recent history. The program is also aimed at informing Afghans about the positive role that the central government, part- nered with the international community, is playing in im- proving average people’s lives, across the country, through development projects. “On the Road” packages these educational objectives in an entertaining format that highlights unique — and often surprising—aspects of the provinces: motocross rac- ing in Herat, skiing in Bamyan, “Mohammed tourism” in Badakhshan and poetry jams in Kandahar. Finally, the program is contributing to the development of an indige- nous media industry, capable of producing high-quality se- ries by, for and about Afghans. The program began to receive positive “buzz” early in the broadcast schedule. Seeking greater insight into its ef- fectiveness, USAID programmanagers for the series con- tracted an independent, third-party viewership survey to find out who was watching the program and what mes- sages they were hearing. The results were surprisingly en- couraging. The probability sample survey estimated that 37 to 46 percent of Afghans watch the program — between 10.8 and 13.4 million of a total population of 29 million. This result confounded the conventional wisdom about the reach of television in Afghanistan, where only 15-20 per- cent of the population has access to the electrical grid. The survey found that many of those watching did so using communal televisions — in fact, about half of those with- out access to electricity reported that they watched televi- sion every day, or several times a week, at a neighbor’s or nearby business that had some form of electricity (gener- ator, car battery, etc.). The survey found ”On the Road” to be the third-most-watched program on Afghan TV, just a few percentage points behind the most-watched. Sur- vey results also showed that the pro- gram has built up a loyal following: of those who have seen it, fully 82 percent watch it regularly (either weekly or bi- weekly) and 97 percent plan to continue to watch it. Viewers also seem to have “gotten” the program. When asked to identify the main messages of the show, they grav- itated to significant themes — advances in road infra- structure, better schooling and female empowerment in recent years. Focus groups revealed that viewers like the program because it provides an opportunity “to learn about traditions in other provinces in Afghanistan” and that it generates “a sentiment of national unity.” Interestingly, the main feedback on how to improve the program is to in- clude more village settings in rural areas and to lengthen each episode. Lessons Learned With hard data from the survey in hand and the first 26-episode season concluded, it is possible to extract a number of lessons learned. While country contexts cer- tainly vary, basic principles regarding working in an em- bassy, establishing relationships with implementers, and managing risks are transferrable to sponsoring television programs in other developing countries. Know your objectives by heart . It sounds simple, but can be difficult to do in practice. With such an inher- ently risky endeavor, it is essential that the program man- ager be able to convey, fluently and persuasively, to stakeholders and decision-makers why the project is worth doing. It is important for him or her to have an “elevator speech” (i.e., a short speech that can be recited in the time it takes to ride an elevator) memorized to articulate how the objectives of the program fit into the larger U.S. for- eign policy objectives for the country. In the case of “On the Road,” those objectives center on promoting national unity and facilitating the central government’s develop- ment partnership with the international community and the Afghan public. Get front office and public affairs buy-in early. Given the risks outlined above, it is necessary to get ex- plicit support from, first, the public affairs section, and then the embassy front office. This can be done through F O C U S The program began to receive positive “buzz” early in the broadcast schedule.