M-Loy9: Mobile Phones to Increase Youth Participation in Cambodia

"Last month there was a village meeting with over 20 participants including villagers, NGO representatives, the village chief and youth... I expressed my opinion about the [problem of] clean water and diarrhoea... then I dialled the m-Loy9 code and we listened about this problem." m-Loy9 trial participant

This research summary reports on the pilot service trying out the BBC Media Action mobile phone component of Loy9, called m-Loy9, a multimedia initiative to increase youth access to information about civic life and opportunities for participation in Cambodia. It includes a weekly magazine programme broadcast on national TV and a radio phone-in show, both supported by a website and social network pages. "The radio programme is broadcast all year round, while season two of the Loy9 TV programme ran from March to June 2013. The m-Loy9 service was divided into four segments, with participants able to choose between a drama, quiz, facts or voice message service. Content changed weekly and was designed to run in parallel with the topics covered by the TV programme running at the same time."

A 2010 BBC Media Action baseline survey in Cambodia "found that young people have very limited knowledge of democratic institutions and their roles, particularly of representative bodies such as parliament and commune councils. In addition, only 8% of respondents had ever voiced their opinions to government or non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and only 4% had contributed to a commune plan....BBC Media Action recruited 30 young people aged 15 to 24 to participate in a trial of Loy9 mobile content (m-Loy9). Each participant was asked to call the m-Loy9 short code once a week for the 16 week trial and to complete a diary detailing experiences and impressions of the service. Findings from participants’ diaries were combined with data from monthly in-depth interviews with the same individuals and technical data from the service provider."

Key findings include the following:

• "The m-Loy9 trial indicated that it could be an effective format to add to the Loy9 multimedia initiative.

• Participants were most likely to engage with m-Loy9 once or twice weekly and were very positive about the trial service. It appeared to be valued because it was seen as encouraging co-operation, improving confidence and providing important information.

• The drama and facts sections of m-Loy9 content were the most popular among participants. However, the quiz was also popular and many reported listening to it after the drama and facts so that they would be better able to answer the questions.

• The order in which these segments were presented to participants appears to have a strong influence on the order in which they engage with them, for example the drama was the first option presented and also the most likely to be chosen.

• A much higher number of unique callers made contact with the m-Loy9 short code than were participating in the trial, suggesting a willingness to share the content among participants.

• The most commonly-reported barrier to accessing m-Loy9 was a lack of mobile credit. All participants reported one problem with or barrier to accessing m-Loy9 at some point during the 16 week trial."

The research document concludes with implications: "The m-Loy9 trial indicated that it could be an effective addition to the Loy9 multimedia initiative. Participants were positive about the trial service and reported that the content encouraged co-operation, improved confidence and provided important information. There were some minor technical issues but they did not impact on participants’ very positive overall ratings of the m-Loy9 service.

As participants were not screened for past or current exposure to other Loy9 content via TV or radio, the trial provided an opportunity to see how mobile content could support overall Loy9 content via other media. Some participants reported that they would be more likely to watch Loy9 on TV after using m-Loy9. Though some did watch Loy9 on TV during the m-Loy9 trial this was not universal, suggesting the mobile content could reach a different audience not currently engaged with Loy9 in other ways."