Evaluation Durex – dance4life design competition

For this evaluation the NCOs answered a questionnaire about the course of the competition,

divided into the planning phase and the competition phase.

Planning phase

Most NCOs remarked that the timing of the competition was unfortunately planned. In

several countries schools were closed and the students on holidays, which made it impossible

to reach the agents4change. In other countries schools were open, but there was no current

dance4life schools project running.

Originally the competition was to be launched in September 2010, when all the NCOs were

active in schools, with the competition winner being announced during the dance4life event.

This was delayed due to the legal considerations.

The duration of the competition being 2 months is enough if implemented during the schools

project. However when not concurrent with the schools activities more time is needed to

reach the agents4change/youth and also to involve staff and volunteers.

Thought and attention was given to the youth who had limited or no internet access;

furthermore it was appreciated that the competition was available in different languages.

Competition phase

Promotion:

Ways of promoting the competition;

- Social media

- Website

- Through schools (posters & teachers)

- Tour team members

- Ex-volunteer network

Overall the NCOs were content with the promotion tools provided, however we received

some remarks for future reference:

- Because of the spread of the programs in several countries, some NCOs incurred costs

to visit all these regions to promote the competition.

- The poster could have been more graphic and the instructions on the brief could

have been clearer.

- Lack of examples made it hard for the youth to grasp the idea of the competition.

Several NCOs remarked that it was difficult to promote the competition because of the link

with Durex/condoms. In several African and Asian countries it’s not allowed to promote

condoms in schools, which makes it very hard to involve the students in school. In some cases

they could be reached outside school (for example youth centers/youth groups in Kenya)

however this was more an exception. It can be difficult for the agents4change themselves to

discuss condoms as there are taboos (religious, cultural) attached to their use. So even if they

hear about the competition they might be shy to enter and be worried about what their

friends/parents/teachers might think.

Participants:

In general the agents4change that the NCOs reached were enthusiastic about the

competition, however in some cases they were not excited about the prize or participating.

Most NCOs stated that in the future the prize should be different. In countries such as Zambia,

Kenya, Indonesia and Vietnam an IPod Nano is rarely used by the youth. The most common

suggested alternative is a mobile phone.

The discussion was raised to open the competition to all youth interested in participating.

Some NCOs argued that it’s not fair to refuse non-agents4change in the same schools as

agents4change. Others suggested opening the competition to all youth who participated in

dance4life. This will broaden the range of the competition and could result in more design

entries.

The website:

For the Western countries the website plays a large role in the success of the competition.

Some remarks about the website and its use:

- Different tabs displayed the same information, which was confusing

- There was no design tool implemented in the website, since a lot of people don’t

have or can’t use design software this was a big problem for people to participate.

Even downloading software to make the design is an obstacle for youth, who prefer

to download online.

Recommendations

The NCOs were very enthusiastic about the competition and how it should involve the youth,

but perhaps it should have been open to all youth.

The new dance4life platform website could contribute a lot to the promotion of the

competition and in reaching the agents4change. In the future when setting up a

competition this should be one of the main tools to implement it. Further integration with

facebook is important.

The competition should run concurrently with the dance4life schools projects.

dance4life (international, NCOs and the youth council) could provide more input and advice

into the competition and it’s implementation.

In terms of planning the competition; one certain period should be chosen in accordance

with the RPCs, keeping in mind the HCT and school holidays. Though it’s hard to chose a

period that fits all NCOs. That’s why it’s better to divide the NCOs in to two groups: (1) Western

countries that have good internet access and (2) Non-Western countries that need to be

reached offline.

Preparation period Competition period Closing period

Set up website

Translate needed

documents

Start promotion of

competition

Clear agreements (set goals)

with all NCOs

Distribute offline templates

Approach jury members

Involve youth actively in

schools, youth centers etc.

Involve teachers, volunteers

etc.

Collection of designs

Involve jury in selecting

winner(s)