Evidence shows that SBC approaches improve FP/RH outcomes and demonstrate a high return on investment in both the short- and long-term1. However, there is a critical need for advocacy to increase investment in and prioritize SBC approaches in FP/RH programming. 


Global SBC strategies have shown a gap in approaches that document and publish impactful techniques and shared results for FP/RH behavior change on the global, regional, national, and local levels. Furthermore, evidence generated for SBC in FP is usually not user-friendly or accessible to all actors in the field. To fill in this gap, Breakthrough ACTION launched the 10 Lives, 10 Stories, One Message competition. This competition solicited compelling human-interest stories that demonstrate the power of SBC to improve reproductive health. A panel of judges composed of experts in SBC and reproductive health from USAID, FP2030, and Breakthrough ACTION selected five finalists whose stories were turned into compelling videos. 


In collaboration with the five finalists and a production team, Breakthrough ACTION developed short videos demonstrating successful SBC programs and approaches and their outcomes both locally, regionally, and nationally. Breakthrough ACTION held a showcase to debut the winning stories. These videos are available in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese and can be accessed on the Breakthrough ACTION website. These products will help increase an understanding of how SBC contributes to improving RH outcomes and can broaden the SBC community of practice and make SBC approaches an integral part of every FP /RH program. 

In this project, healthcare workers and community members in Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam documented their personal experiences of Covid-19. They each made their own 'digital diary', using a range of creative tools and with technical support from the project team.
 
These diaries form part of the COVID-19 Social Science and Public Engagement Action Research (SPEAR)project: exploring the experiences and impacts of COVID-19 for healthcare workers and vulnerable communities. 
 
Using the digital diaries we have gathered a wide range of stories from Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal. They include reflections of the challenges and stigma faced during this time. They also document the positive experiences – of cooperation, resilience and inspiration – whether personally, within families, or within their workplace and their community. To create the diaries participants were invited to use videos, photos, drawings, recordings or other artworks to express their experiences of Covid-19. 
 
To reach a wide audience we organised offline and online screenings and discussions in order to stimulate dialogue, raise awareness and inspire community connection and support. We also intend, when restrictions lift, that the films are shared within each author's community. 
 
We anticipate that watching these stories will help prompt viewers to consider their own economic and emotional situation as a result of the pandemic and to evaluate how they have managed as individuals. We also hope that these stories help people to consider strategies which communities can adopt for supporting one another in future challenging contexts.

The Waorani people are guardians of ancient traditions and wisdom from the Ecuadorian Amazon that they call home. However, theirs is a culture in gradual decline, threatened as the inevitable march of time claims the elders charged to protect the wisdom. Even the sacred connection the Waorani share with their natural environment is threatened as petroleum companies continue their 80-year history of exploration and extraction within indigenous territory. Over the past year, researchers Megan Westervelt (MFA Candidate, Communication Media Arts, Ohio University) and Jorge Castillo-Castro (Operations Director, Tropical Herping) have worked with community members in Dicaro assess if and how producing digital stories and having access to sharing those stories can provide a tool for indigenous communities to understand, communicate, and/or address environmental challenges in their own communities. This playlist of short 360 films showcases the first immersive stories created by six indigenous community members in Dicaro, Ecuador. Originally captured and edited using the creators' smartphones, these films have been re-edited to produce higher resolution versions that support the creators' initial visions. These filmmakers had two goals in mind for these films: (1) to teleport people from other countries and cultures to their ancestral lands in the Amazon rainforest and (2) to archive their traditional way of life for generations to come. The technology we used simply became a way to reconnect with the past, with ancestral knowledge, and with a long-standing tradition of oral storytelling.