Can we Talk?

A communication campaign for illiterates in Mali , graduation project at the KABK, 2004

Discussion card 1 of 20: Depicting the proverb "Close your gate to prevent the wild animals from getting inside.". A clear link to sexually transmitted diseases, without talking about sex. I puzzled together the photo's throughout my 2 month stay in Mali. During the testfase of the material I found out that the man who modelled for me in this picture dressed in his wife's robe to make a joke.

Developed in Mali, West-Africa, this campaign on hiv/aids targeting illiterates, spans one year of research. The project focuses on local issues surrounding hiv/aids, and on the phenomenon of 'visual illiteracy'. This theory was researched and developed mainly by Andreas Fuglesang, a Swedish art-director working in Africa, in the 1960s. Fuglesang discovered people in non-western countries who cannot read or write often also cannot 'read' visuals, such as photo's, illustrations and pictograms. Taking his research into account and analyzing the situation in Mali led to the development of the 'Can we talk?' project. You can have a look at all the project items and the descriptions of their use in the pdf download section below.

The project is set up for pair-education, a system where local people are employed to start small discussion groups with their peers on various (health)issues. The project was named "Peut-on-en-parler?"(Can we talk?). Because of taboos surrounding hiv/aids and sex, the pair-educateurs needed visual aids to get the discussion going, without being too forward.

The material that was to be developed had to:
1. attract attention and spread the word about the existence of the project
2. help the pair-educateurs in getting the discussion going and addressing important issues
3. serve as a constant reminder of the discussion group and possibly spread the word further.

After writing a communication strategy, the campaign items were developed partly on location (photography, copy writing) and partly in the Netherlands (graphic design). At the heart of the campaign are Malian sayings, or proverbs. Twenty were selected that have a (discreet or not so discreet) reference to sex, marriage, relationships, prostitution, cultural prejudice and emancipation. Part of the campaign are banners, calendars, discussion cards, and postcards.

Downloads

Project items + description ...pdf
Article "Visual illiteracy in non-western countries" ...pdf
Report "The problems surrounding hiv/aids in Mali"...pdf