Condoms and Soap Operas to Save the World: A Forum in Arizona

TUCSON, ARIZONA– About 140 people learned about endangered species condoms and soap operas as methods to save the world on September 10th in Tucson, Arizona. The event, titled “How Can Condoms and Soap Operas Save the World?” was co-hosted by the Arizona Chapter of Population Media Center, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the University of Arizona’s Department of Communication.

The audience gathered to hear Bill Ryerson, President of the Population Media Center (PMC), Kieran Suckling, the Director of the Center for Biological Diversity, and Jennifer Aubrey, Associate Professor of Communications at the University of Arizona discuss domestic and international efforts to bring about positive social change.

“It was a great event,” says Keith Kaback, Director of PMC’s Arizona Chapter. “It was gratifying to have a dialogue with the audience about these diverse programs that help improve individual and community well-being.”

The audience learned about PMC’s domestic and international serialized dramas bringing about positive social change; the Center for Biological Diversity’s groundbreaking Endangered Species Program which has distributed 500,000 condoms while demonstrating the link between population and extinction of species; and research from the University of Arizona about reality TV programs like “16 and Pregnant” showing that such programs may not achieve the beneficial social impacts touted by commercial media.

ABOUT POPULATION MEDIA CENTER (PMC):

Population Media Center is a nonprofit, international nongovernmental organization, which strives to improve the health and well-being of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies, like serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience for positive behavior change. Founded in 1998, PMC has over 15 years of field experience using the Sabido methodology of behavior change communications, impacting more than 50 countries around the world. www.populationmedia.org