O Jogo (The Game): A Radio Soap Opera Produced by Search for Common Ground in Angola

Search for Common Ground in Angola
Search for Common Ground is an international NGO dedicated to transforming the way individuals and societies deal with conflict: away from adversarial approaches, toward cooperative solutions. In Sub-Saharan Africa, SFCG has been using radio as a peacebuilding tool for years, including developing and producing radio soap operas for social change. Soap opera provides a platform to deal with important issues through the experiences of the characters. In the soap opera, the characters confront stereotypes and challenge commonly held perceptions. As people listen to the dramas, they see themselves in the story and adapt some of the behavioral changes that the characters make. SFCG draws many of its storylines from real-life occurrences, sharing success stories from different communities with the nation as a whole, and encouraging individuals to take a chance on new approaches.

In Angola, SFCG has been working for over ten years to achieve the following goal: to support sustainable peace and national reconciliation by working with Angolans to transform their society away from a culture of violence to one characterised by coexistence, security, social justice, and popular participation. SFCG-Angola's approach focuses on opening space for dialogue and action between parties in conflict to engage in cooperative problem-solving processes. In 2005, SFCG opened an independent radio production studio, Estúdio N'jango, that has been producing radio programmes which air on RNA and Radio Ecclesia. Featuring diverse voices in its broadcasts has been a feature of SFCG's radio programmes, augmenting the themes of reconciliation and tolerance with a range of different voices that make those themes a reality.

Goal and Objectives
Throughout the world, in countries where populations are suffering from poverty, violent conflict, and disaffection, football has provided individuals with a welcome reprieve and hope for a better future. Angola is no different. Underlying the joy and celebration of the Palancas Negras' successes is a core concept: national unity. Leveraging the national pride fostered by the country's football team, SFCG in Angola has developed a radio soap opera that will examine the issue of national reconciliation through the lens of a fictional protagonist dreaming of playing football in the World Cup. The project will work toward the overall goal to promote the concept of a national Angolan identity as a means to achieve unity and reconciliation after 30 years of war. The project will have three main objectives in support of this goal:

• Foster tolerance and understanding among different groups (particularly between the "haves" and "have nots")
• Open space for discussion of different viewpoints and opinions; and
• Promote nonviolent methods of conflict resolution.

O Jogo
SFCG's World Cup Soap Opera, O Jogo (which means "The Game"), utilises the popularity of football in Angola to examine the concept of a national Angolan identity as a means to achieve unity and reconciliation. O Jogo targets an audience of 15-25 year olds in Angola. The storylines trace the events and experiences of Anacleto Adão and Robert Gomes, two youth from very different worlds within Angola. Originally from Huambo, Anacleto is a young man struggling to realize his dream of playing football for the Angolan National Team as the pressures of poverty and the temptations of a life as part of a violent street gang work against him. His antagonist, Roberto Gomes, comes from an elite background, with all the trappings of a privileged life. Yet he too is inspired by football and by Angola's winning a spot at the World Cup. O Jogo is the story of how these two youth, from totally different worlds within Angola, meet and eventually learn to put Angola's divided and war-torn past behind them on the football pitch. It is also the story of how a nation can learn to heal itself through the joys of sport.

The 15-minute radio soap opera will air weekly on Thursdays on Radio Ecclesia, starting June 1st. O Jogo is funded by DFID and the European Commission.

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