ISEC project design workshop on the SBCC Campaign

ILO, BRAC and UNDP-A2i recently participated in a daylong workshop on 25 March 2024 to design a comprehensive Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) campaign for the ISEC project. The campaign aims to challenge societal norms and promote positive attitudes towards TVET as an investment and economic empowerment. It also seeks to address gender-related barriers that hinder women's participation in skills development and the labor market. This SBCC campaign is rooted in the socioeconomic challenges of Cox's Bazar, where poverty, low literacy rates, and gender disparities in labor force participation persist.

Representatives from partners' programs, communications, and gender teams jointly ideated the campaign sketch by developing a matrix for the SBCC. The workshop participants agreed to utilize communication channels such as printed material, photography exhibitions, popular theatre shows by the local group, folk songs, public processions to celebrate or observe different days, launching events, dialogue events, and consultation sessions, debate competitions, graffiti painting, field visit by local and/or national journalists, news coverage, op-ed in the newspaper, social media posting, etc.

A communication strategy will be developed to ensure a consistent and coherent campaign for social behavior change communication (SBCC) in support of popular attitude changes: 1) needed in the perception of TVET services as an investment, and 2) to a higher level of acceptance towards women’s increased participation in skills development training and the labor market.

A collaborative workshop will be held to develop campaign messaging through stakeholder mapping. Subsequently, a comprehensive planning meeting will be convened, engaging procurement and finance teams to ensure operational readiness for the campaign.

The project team is confident that the SBCC campaign will make a significant contribution to the long-term success of the ISEC project and the empowerment of the most vulnerable people in Cox's Bazar, especially for women and girls.