Media Focus on Africa (MFA) will this month unveil a new 13-episode drama series called Yat Madit.
The series aim to promote intercultural dialogue and demonstrate alternative ways of dealing with conflict. It will air on NTV on Thursdays, 8pm to 9pm starting December 8.
“The series is about a multi-cultural community in a trading centre called Yat Madit recovering from the ravages of war in northern Uganda. The community must put aside individual and cultural differences and work together to craft a way forward after the war,” said Mburugu Gikunda, associate producer, MFA.
Yat Madit is part of a multi-media project for social change funded by the European Union, ICCO Cooperation, Doen Foundation and implemented by MFA in collaboration with Trivision Uganda Ltd.
According to Gikunda, although this story is based on real-life experiences in the Lango, Teso, Acholi and Karamoja sub-regions, it has been made to reflect any post-conflict community across the country.
Kristian Schmidt, EU head of Delegation to Uganda, said, “When people watch this – they will say, ‘Yes, this is our life’. The purpose is not to watch something entertaining and then go away, but to stimulate a debate about these issues and then help reconciliation and recovery.”
In the plot, the community grapples with post-conflict challenges including unemployment, land wrangles, life as war returnees, homeless former IDP camp residents, alcoholism, and domestic violence, among others.
“Eventually, we expect that the various communities in post-conflict situations in Uganda, especially northern and north-eastern Uganda, will be able to peacefully resolve the issues affecting them and work together regardless of their socio-cultural differences,” Caroline Ort, programme development manager at ICCO, said.
Alongside the series, MFA will return to the communities to host inter-cultural dialogues. Through these sessions, communities from different cultures will watch the series and then talk about emerging issues in the plot and discuss possible solutions.
The production is also being adapted as a radio play in the local languages of the affected areas. MFA used a similar approach in Kenya through the award-winning The Team produced after the post-election violence of 2007/8.
feupal@observer.ug