Below is a book review of David Poindexters book, Out of the Darkness of Centuries. The review is written by Jane Roberts’ of RH Reality Check.

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/reader-diaries/2010/07/21/darkness-centuries-book-review
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You really can change outlook and behavior by scientifically based entertainment-education through the media, primarily radio and television. That is the premise of David O. Poindexter’s book Out of the Darkness of Centuries, a PMC (Population Media Center) book by the founder of Population Communication International and now emeritus member of the Board for PMC.
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Population Media Center (PMC) invites you to join us in commemorating World Population Day.

July 11th marks the day where we, as a world, come together and shine a light on various population issues such as the importance of family planning and gender equality, ending poverty, improving maternal health, and upholding human rights. Addressing each of these issues is critical to achieving a healthy and environmentally balanced world.

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Below is a review of Breakaway written by TheMarginalized.com
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Breakaway is a story-based, football-themed electronics game that uses soccer to encourage good decisions in young people.

Created through Champlain College, the development team has just released the first three episodes of Chapter One online and on CD. Better yet, they have also put it in the hands of multiple kids’ groups this year at the World Cup.

Its creators hope that the game will combat violence, particularly against women, by fostering in young players a sense of power to do good in the world and not give in to peer pressure.

For full article, visit:
http://themarginalized.com/2010/07/01/breakaway-release/

This New York Times OpEd covered PMC-Ethiopia’s soap operas, Yeken Kignit and Dhimbibba.
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A friend of mine, a physician who works the longest hours of anybody I know, makes only one exception from her demanding schedule in New York. Once a week, she returns home early to watch a new episode of her favorite soap opera.

I cannot think of a more unlikely fan. It goes to show that soap operas appeal across a broad spectrum, from the most intellectually sophisticated to people with little or no formal education.

So it should come as no surprise that soap operas, or telenovelas, are increasingly being used throughout the world to disseminate messages about health issues such as the need for contraception, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, how to achieve peace between countries in conflict and how to elevate the status of women in developing countries. By identifying themselves with the protagonists’ dreams and problems the viewer establishes an immediate connection with them.

For full article, visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/opinion

Thanks to Population Institute for this blog post.
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This month marks the start of the World Cup, an international quadrennial competition for the world’s most popular sport, soccer (which is known everywhere else in the world as football.) During the World Cup our partner organization Population Media Center (PMC), along with Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center (EMC) in Vermont, will be launching the first three chapters of an electronic game called Breakaway, which uses the game of soccer to help combat violence against women.

According to UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women), up to 70% of women experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime, and among women 15-44 years old, acts of violence cause more death and disability than malaria, cancer, traffic accidents, and war combined. In South Africa, home of this year’s World Cup, a woman is killed every 6 hours by an intimate partner. It’s a violation of human rights that is deeply rooted in many cultures.

For full article, visit:
http://blog.populationinstitute.org/2010/06/23/breakaway-during-the-world-cup/

The following article about our electronic game project, Breakaway, appeared in the Shelburne News weekly newspaper.
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http://www.shelburnenews.com

A two-year project with Population Media Center (PMC) in Shelburne and Champlain College, with the support of the United Nations, made its worldwide debut this week during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. PMC, an organization with expertise in behavior change, and Champlain College designed an online game, entitled “Breakaway,” a tactical and narrative soccer (football) game that has been under development and testing since 2008. The game has been developed to tackle issues such as gender equality, fair team play, and racial stereotypes all within the constructs of a fun and interactive online experience.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2010

Contact: Katie Elmore
Director of Communications
Tel: 802-985-8156 ext. 205
elmore@populationmedia.org

Online Football Game Launches June 22 to Global Audience
World Cup Soccer Star Samuel Eto’o Joins United Nations ‘Breakaway’ Team

Breakaway, a new narrative-driven online football (soccer) game, endorsed by world-famous football star, Samuel Eto’o, hits the global gaming field of play at noon Tuesday, June 22 during the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup in South Africa.
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PMC’s electronic game project, Breakaway, was featured on Fox 44 News.

Click here to learn more about Breakaway.

Earth reached its human capacity in the 1980s. Our planet is in crisis, and Bill Ryerson is using media to change behaviors that contribute to global overpopulation.

Global warming, food and water crises, even international conflict — you can trace all these societal and environmental problems to overpopulation. Experts believe that Earth reached its population capacity in the 1980s, meaning we now consume natural resources at a rate much higher than they can be replenished. And of course, as we take away natural resources, we’re adding a slew of unnatural, toxic matter into the mix that brings about a host of other problems.

Currently there are just over 6.8 billion people in the world. By mid-century, we’re expected to number 9 billion, roughly the equivalent of one-tenth of all humans who have ever walked the planet. Curbing population growth is a logical goal if the human race wishes to ensure its own sustainability — and that of the other species with whom we share Earth. (Not to mention Earth itself, too.)
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The following article from The Burlington Free Press, features PMC’s electronic game project.
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A student-designed electronic soccer game that will make its debut in two weeks, during the World Cup, is a “Breakaway” in more ways than one.

For starters, that’s the title of the game, more than two years in development at Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center and heavily promoted by the United Nations for its persuasive subtext: preventing violence against women. The target audience: soccer-minded boys age 8-15 throughout the world.

But the game exemplifies its name in other ways: It’s an episodic, tactical Web-based diversion that features not only soccer moves, but also more than a dozen characters and a running narrative that’s based on the Sabido method — a technique for influencing behavior that’s been perfected by the Population Media Center of Shelburne, a key adviser in the project. The method has infused TV serial dramas used to promote public-awareness campaigns in Third World countries around such issues as AIDS and birth control.
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