"Enter-educate." Reaching youth with messages of sexual responsibility.

Messages about sexual relationships, the prevention of pregnancy and disease, education, the empowerment of women, and concern for the environment are increasingly being disseminated to audiences of all ages through the use of entertainment. Ideas are presented in this Enter-Educate approach through popular, enjoyable entertainment in the form of songs, dramas, soap operas, variety shows, and other folk media. This approach can be adapted to be acceptable and effective in all cultures. Yafaman is one such example. It is a drama written and acted by high school students in Cote d'Ivoire which depicts the story of a school girl who learns that her older, married boyfriend is no longer interested in her when she becomes pregnant. After winning the annual national drama contest, Yafaman was televised and broadcast widely in schools and on national networks in francophone Africa. The video has also been dubbed in English for wider use. Popular music has delivered effective messages of sexual responsibility to young adults in Latin America and the Philippines. The US Agency for International Development-funded Population Communication Services project at the Johns Hopkins University supports 36 major Enter-Educate television series and specials, nine radio dramas, three songs, and nine music videos. Other organizations are expanding or experimenting with work in this area. The authors discuss the theoretical basis for Enter-Educate projects and explain that the approach works because it is pervasive, popular, personal, passionate, persuasive, practical, profitable, and proven effective.