Media Human Resource Development in Indo-Chinese Countries: Educational TV Broadcast of The Structure of Market Economy in Myanmar


PROGRAM DATA
Implementing Organization: Myanmar Television and Radio Department (MTRD),
Ministry of Information (Myanmar)
Target Country: Myanmar
Type of Project: Human Resource Development
Period: one-year (1999)



When SSACF broadcast the television program
The Structure of Market Economy, produced by the Sasakawa Central Europe Fund, in Vietnam and Cambodia, the reaction was very positive, so this year the same experiment was conducted in Myanmar. The purpose of this project was to provide a program package in Myanmarese, including a soundtrack and accompanying text, to promote better understanding of the basic workings of the market economy across a cross section of the Myanmar population. A concurrent objective was to inspire a greater interest among people in the media and education in the production of educational software and in education about the market economy.

The text was distributed to students, businessmen, and government officials, and the program was broadcast four times between December 1999 and the end of January 2000. A survey conducted at the time of the broadcasts to gauge viewers' level of understanding of the market economy showed a marked improvement, from roughly half the questions answered correctly before the broadcasts to almost 80% after people had watched the program.