Media and Advocacy Program (MAP)

The Media and Advocacy Program is focused on developing contacts with local media in order to strengthen and promote the advocacy strategies used both by YOHO and its affiliate sites to lobby Government officials, development partners and the community as it relates to youth friendly sexual health and reproductive programming. MAP has embraced a, ‘for youth, by youth’, philosophy in efforts to create a more comprehensive understanding of young people and their needs, as it relates to their sexual and reproductive health, as well as to improve partnerships with adult professionals in order to develop more age appropriate prevention strategies and messages.

Key components of the Media and Advocacy Program include:

Seboza Talk Show, Live on Yarona FM – Live the Music

Yarona FM provides 30 minutes of airtime to YOHO every week for the Seboza Talk radio show, giving YOHO an opportunity to discuss issues of gender inequality and sexual and reproductive health. In addition, the station provides technical support for the effective delivery of the talkshow and allows outside members of the public to share their testimonies live, through phone interviews or by having them as guest on the show.

Seboza Talk Rewind, Monthly Recap in Lapologa Magazine:

In efforts to reinforce the discussions occurring on the Seboza Talk Show, Lapologa Magazine runs a monthly column, recapping the messages shared each week during the talk show. Not only does this serve as a means of summarizing discussions, but it allows for further dissemination of information to a larger number of youth, who may have missed the talk show or who prefer to read magazines instead. Moreover, articling allows each individual to read and reflect on the issues raised on their own time, in order to smarter decisions as it relates to their sexual and reproductive health.

Seboza Talk Listening Groups:

Seboza Clubs are based all around Botswana, in each of the nine health districts (Ghanzi, Hukuntsi, Gaborone, Serower, Selebi Phikwe, Francistown, Letlhakane and Kasane). Club members are encouraged to tune into the talk show if they are within the frequency range of Yarona FM and all members are given the chance to participate in the show through live telephone interviews. Club members are asked to engage in discussions, based on the issues raised on the talk show, and to share in the challenges that they feel are relevant in their community. In addition, youth are asked to propose potential solutions for the issues that they feel are most prominent in their community, relative to sexual and reproductive health. The hope is that these listening clubs provide a safe and welcoming environment for youth to discuss issues of sexual and reproductive health, and the talk show provides the springboard for these discussion by introducing a new topic each week.