Get Up to $20M for Educational Media in Pakistan

USAID/Pakistan will support the development of television and multi-media programming under the Pakistan Children’s Television (PCTV) program. Multi-media educational programming has been used effectively to reach both in-school and out-of-school children with measureable effects on school readiness, literacy skills, respect for diversity, and excitement for learning. These programs are particularly useful to reach children who may not have access to schools, effective teachers, or learning materials. The PCTV program will extend basic education and life skills content to children in Pakistan through a series of television and multi-media programs and outreach materials.

The overarching goals of PCTV are to develop the language, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities of children and to promote positive attitudes among young Pakistani audiences towards diverse and marginalized groups, including girls. PCTV also seeks to support in-country capacity to develop and produce educational television programming and encourage public and private partnerships to develop and sustain educational media for children. PCTV will directly support the mutual development goals and objectives of the Governments of Pakistan and the United States. The PCTV program should be relevant to the education environment in Pakistan, and also include lessons learned and best practices from children’s media programs worldwide.

The program should fully utilize the vibrant media market in Pakistan. Applicants are encouraged to develop creative programming and incorporate appropriate media technologies to reach large audiences and prepare them for successful school participation and learning. Finally, in line with current USG strategy, USAID/Pakistan encourages the involvement of Pakistani institutions in all phases of the program. The estimated level of funding for this project is $16 million to $20 million over four years.