How Girl Hub Ethiopia used girl-centred insights to create Yegna. Yegna was created by speaking to hundreds of girls across Ethiopia to understand the daily challenges they face. This presentation explains how the insights from that research were translated into a radio drama and talk show that celebrates and encourages the role Ethiopian girls can play in the economic development of their country.

1. DESIGNED
FOR GIRLS,
WITH GIRLS
HOW YEGNA WAS CREATED
TOGETHER WITH ETHIOPIAN GIRLS

2. CONTENTS
1
2
3
WHAT IS YEGNA?
WHAT MAKES A GREAT GIRL-CENTERED INSIGHT?
THE INSIGHTS
•
•
•
•
•
4
GIRLS LOSE AMBITION WITHOUT ROLE MODELS
FRIENDS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE TO HER LIFE
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY CAN HELP GIRLS UNITE
APPEALING TO HER COMMUNITY WILL HELP REACH HER
SELF-EXPRESSION IS EMPOWERING
WHAT WE’VE LEARNT TO DATE

3. WHAT’S YEGNA?
YEGNA IS ETHIOPIA’S FIRST TEEN BRAND.
It means “ours” in Amharic.
It’s a radio drama, talk show and music band that champions the potential of Ethiopian girls.
Yegna was created after talking to more than a thousand of girls about the challenges they face and the dreams they have for the future.
It appeals to men and boys too, as we want them to believe in the potential of girls as much as girls themselves do.
This presentation will share how we arrived at the insights that led to the development of Yegna.
YEGNA RADIO DRAMA:
The 30-minute radio drama
features five girls from
different backgrounds, who
come together through a
shared love of music to form
a band. The drama follows their individual
stories, the problems they face at home, in
school and through life on the streets.
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YEGNA TALK SHOW:
Each episode of the
radio drama is followed
by Yegna Sa’at, a halfhour talk show that
explores the issues raised
in Yegna through
features, interviews and
audience interaction.
YEGNA MUSIC: Every
episode of the drama and
talk show features a new
song from the Yegna band.
As the drama unfolds, the
band develops its own
youthful sound, rooted in
Ethiopian culture but with a
modern twist.

4. WHAT MAKES A GREAT
GIRL-CENTERED INSIGHT?
An insight is the why behind the what. Crucially, insights are not facts, observations or statistics. They are information gathered and
then processed into knowledge.
A good insight takes in lots of disparate facts, observations, themes and snippets of information, and reaches a new conclusion – one
which no one else has reached before – one which enables us to understand why someone thinks something or has done something.
To find out more about how to create insights, download our Insights Toolkit from www.girleffect.org/insightstoolkit
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5. THE
INSIGHTS
Our research revealed 5 key insights that helped informed Yegna:
1.
2.
3.
4.
GIRLS LOSE AMBITION WITHOUT ROLE MODELS
FRIENDS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE TO HER LIFE
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY CAN HELP GIRLS UNITE
APPEALING TO HER COMMUNITY WILL HELP
REACH HER
5. SELF-EXPRESSION IS EMPOWERING
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6. 1. GIRLS LOSE AMBITION WITHOUT ROLE MODELS
INSIGHT
SOLUTION
IN ACTION
Girls in Ethiopia lack positive role models.
Without role models a girl’s aspiration is
limited: she can’t imagine a life beyond what
she sees around her. Most often in Ethiopia
this life will be one of domestic and family
duties, since 45 per cent of girls aged 12-14
do a minimum of 28 hours of housework per
week.
Create something for girls to believe in
and aspire to, by providing them with
positive multidimensional role models.
Through the story lines in the drama and the
personal stories of guests shared in the Talk Show,
Yegna gives girls positive role models to aspire to.
One example is the character of Mimi who lives on
the street but aspires to start her own business. The
other Yegna girls look up to Mimi’s confidence and
strength and she has emerged as one of the most
popular characters in Series 1 of the drama.
Behavioral change theory is woven into the arc of
the narrative. The stories reflect situations Ethiopian
girls face and illustrate ways that, with support,
they can overcome challenges to reach their
personal goals.
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7. INSIGHT 1
IN ACTION:
THE CHARACTER OF
MIMI, A STREET
GIRL STARTING
HER OWN
BUSINESS — A
POSITIVE ROLE
MODEL
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8. 2. FRIENDS ARE TRANSFORMATIVE TO HER LIFE
INSIGHT
SOLUTION
IN ACTION
When Ethiopian girls become
adolescents, parents often choose to
keep them indoors to protect them from
the threat of violence and preserve their
value for marriage.
Create a network of five friends for all
Ethiopian girls.
The Yegna drama follows the story of the five girls as
their friendship develops, and illustrates the support
and strength which friends offer to one another.
This means girls are often socially
isolated and lack confidence in
themselves and other girls. This is shown
by the fact that 21 per cent of girls in
Ethiopia describe themselves as having
no friends.
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With five friends, a girl’s world opens up.
Each member of the group will offer
unique assets which are multiplied and
shared by all of them.
Within this type of social network, a girl’s
confidence thrives: she learns to trust
others at an individual and group level.
As the series developed, the evolving friendship
between Mimi (a street girl) and Emuye (a school girl
experiencing domestic violence) captured the hearts of
the audience.
Yegna Connections will also be piloted later this year a safe space for hard-to-reach girls to come together
and develop life skills through creative games. Its goal
is to unite girls in communities.

9. INSIGHT 2
IN ACTION:
FIVE GIRLS CAN
OFFER EACH
OTHER
SUPPORT AND
STRENGTH
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10. 3. CELEBRATING DIVERSITY CAN HELP GIRLS UNITE
INSIGHT
SOLUTION
IN ACTION
Girls see themselves as proudly Ethiopian,
and part of their communities as well as girls.
They have a desire to remain strongly
connected to their family and their social
groups.
'Yegna’ (‘ours’ in English) is a word that
captures the importance of collective
culture to girls, while also
acknowledging that they have nothing
which is truly 'theirs' - especially space
and time. ‘Yegna’ is a space and world
for girls, but it is enjoyed by everyone.
Yegna values diversity and promotes unity
between girls from different backgrounds, as well
as appealing to others in society to champion the
potential of girls
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The five girls in the drama all have different lives
and personalities, but their shared love of music
creates an unlikely friendship that each character
draws on as she faces different challenges.

11. INSIGHT 3
IN ACTION:
COMING
TOGETHER IN
UNLIKELY YET
SIGNIFICANT
FRIENDSHIPS
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12. 4. APPEALING TO HER COMMUNITY WILL HELP
REACH HER
INSIGHT
SOLUTION
IN ACTION
Girls recognize that altering the attitudes
and behaviors of those around them (men,
boys, gatekeepers) is critical to bring
about change in their lives.
We want boys and those around her
be champions for girls and the Girl
Effect as much as girls themselves.
The Yegna drama features positive male role models and
illustrates healthy relationships between girls and boys.
For instance, Manti a lead male character in the show, is
the Yegna group’s number one fan.
Without shifting male attitudes and
perceptions of girls, Yegna will not be
able to reach or empower girls.
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To achieve this it’s important not to
alienate boys and men and create
content that appeals to them.
The talk show also features male guests who boys and
men can look up to. For instance, the talk show featured an
interview with Adissu Demissie in Series 1, a former shoe
shine boy who went on to become a successful
choreographer.

13. INSIGHT 4
IN ACTION:
POSITIVE MALE
ROLE MODELS
FOR BOYS AND
MEN
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14. 5. SELF-EXPRESSION IS EMPOWERING
INSIGHT
SOLUTION
IN ACTION
Music and dance are at the heart of
Ethiopia’s culture (both past and present) and
are means of expression that all girls relate
to and enjoy.
By reflecting what is true and positive
within Ethiopian culture i.e. music and
dance we can draw our audience to
Yegna and gain trust and relevancy as a
brand. This allows us to create spaces
(virtual and real) for girls to celebrate
being a girl.
Yegna leads on entertainment: exceptional
production values; engaging creative campaigns
and inspiring music to attract girls to the brand.
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Yegna presents a positive and progressive vision
of girls coming together to learn from one another
whilst being rooted in and true to Ethiopian culture.

15. INSIGHT 5
IN ACTION:
FUSING
TRADITIONAL
AND ETHIOPIAN
MUSIC AND
DANCE WITH
MODERN FORMS
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16. AUDIENCE REACTIONS TO YEGNA
“I’m proud of being female.”
“Yegna is my favourite
program. It is a mirror to
my life.”
“Powerful lyrics! It [the
Abet music video from
the show] advocates
girls’ and women’s
human rights to be
recognised within the
Ethiopian context.”
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“I am so happy to see Ethiopians
being just Ethiopians, modernising
our true selves without trying to
imitate others.”
“Yegna, I think Ethiopian
people will change their
imagination for women.”
“I realise I want
change by
listening to you.”
“Yegna
you are
truly
ours.”
“The drama teaches
you about friendship,
trust and respect.”
“There are many youth who
have their own talent… but
for many reasons can’t show
it to the world around them.
You show that.”
“Touching drama and has
increased my respect for
women.”
“My wife and I
listen to programme
all the time.”
“You [Yegna] are
making me look
forward to life.”
“Mimi character + ability
fully fits the English saying
"Do not judge a book by
it's cover" She is just
brilliant!!!”
“Hi Yegna, I love your show you
have me glued to my radio
every Sunday (and I’m more of a
TV kind of guy).”

17. WHAT WE’VE
LEARNT TO DATE
1. PRESENT A PROGRESSIVE VISION OF GIRLS & THEIR
POTENTIAL TO GIVE GIRLS SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN
AND ASPIRE TO
2. STAY TRUE TO OUR CORE PRINCIPLE: 'START WITH THE
GIRL’. DRAW ON THE DIVERSE EXPERIENCES OF ALL
ETHIOPIAN GIRLS, INCLUDING THE MOST VULNERABLE
AND EXCLUDED
3. REFLECT WHAT IS POSITIVE AND TRUE OF CULTURE TO
CREATE AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION WITH YOUR
AUDIENCE
To find out more about how to create insights, download our Insights
Toolkit from www.girleffect.org/insightstoolkit
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19. GIRLS ARE THE MOST POWERFUL
FORCE FOR CHANGE ON THE PLANET
GET INSPIRATION AND TOOLS
TO UNLEASH THE GIRL EFFECT AT
GIRLEFFECT.ORG
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