The impact?

So far, the packaging of instant noodles has not changed. But at least we have started the conversation.

The video went viral and reached more than four million people on YouTube alone. Young people are talking about it on social media and the viewership is increasing by the day. Indonesians today are more aware of how their consumption can be detrimental to their environment - including these noodles. â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹

On Twitter, people joked about the good quality of the packaging that is indestructible, but they also discussed the price that we pay for eating plastic-packaged instant noodles. Our research showed that people not only found it relatable but were surprised that something they do every day could have such an impact on the planet.

We never expected the video to go viral. We’re used to videos of celebrities going viral, but not instant noodles.  What we learned is something we talk about all the time at the Â鶹ԼÅÄ, "using something people can relate to". It works.

So we did it again with Grandma’s biscuit tin – another very popular video.

Simplifying communications around upcycling.

Who doesn’t remember their disappointment during their childhood when they would open the biscuit tin only to find that their granny had put cheap crackers in it, or even worse, a sewing kit? 

This shared moment of early sorrow helped to create feelings of nostalgia within the viewer, and then, the upside: look… even Grandma was an environmentalist.

In our re-telling of this common story, we had a young person repurposing the tin and upcycling it.

You can watch the video .

Now that we built a fanbase of more than 181k on social media, I would say we need to take the next step and engage with people outside the social media sphere. We need roadshows and live discussions so we can get young people to take action as a community rather than individuals. 

Research is vital to knowing what your audiences will like and making this an entry point to your programme is key to success. In Indonesia, youth are tech-savvy, but they also want to engage online, build their identity, and talk about food, fashion, and music – not just climate change.  

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Find out more about our project Kembali Ke Hutan (Return to the forest) here .

Read our research evaluation briefing about the project .

Kembali Ke Hutan is funded by .

2. How free do people feel to speak their minds?

We asked people in three Asian countries (, , ), four African countries (, , , ) and the  whether they could 'say what they think'. A majority felt at least somewhat free to speak their minds in all but one of the countries: .

But across the eight countries in our , we found that many people don’t feel they can criticise those in charge. Around a third of , , Bangladeshis and ‘feel people like them are free to talk negatively about the government in public’; in and this drops to under one in four.

Nepal is the only place we looked at where a majority (65%) feel at least those in charge. Nigerians are the next most comfortable with openly complaining about their leaders, say they could – though only half that number felt very liberated to do so.

3. Who are the keenest voters?

In six countries, we also asked whether people had voted in the last general election: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Nigeria.

came out top, with 90% reporting having voted in the last general election, closely followed by at 87% and at 86%. (A quick note – we conducted our Burmese survey in 2016, after the of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in 2015.)

Turnout was lowest in and the , where 42% and 45% respectively said they’d cast a ballot in the last national election.

Of course, people don’t just get involved with public life through voting. Meetings, protests, and various forms of communication are all types of political participation. The previewed below shows that while only a small proportion of people have been in touch with government officials, nearly two thirds have teamed up with others in their community to solve a problem.   

4. How do people feel about those who are different to them?               

Historically, Kenya has been the site of . Yet even against this background, well over 80% of Kenyans and think it's important to and (see below).  

In a country with over 100 ethnic groups, believe that peace relies on mutual respect between people from different ethnic, religious and social groups. Similarly in Nigeria – which has wrestled with religious divides – nine tenths of the population believe that people from different backgrounds have ‘’.

However, a large majority of both and feel that some differences between groups are ‘just too difficult to overcome’.

5. How are people adapting to environmental change?

Building on our project – which examined 33,500 people’s everyday experiences of climate change – we’ve more recently asked Tanzanians and Bangladeshis about how they’re coping with changes to the world around them.

In the drought-ridden areas of Dodoma and Morogoro in Tanzania, more people think has decreased than increased over the past ten years. as to whether rainfall is higher or lower than it was a decade ago.

Getting their information predominantly , Tanzanians are making some – though not a lot – of in light of the environmental challenges they face. Popular responses include  and .

In Bangladesh, , and are all commonly seen to have increased in the past decade. for getting information about water, food, energy and extreme weather, considerably more so than the radio, newspaper, friends and family.

of the population have changed how they live in response to environmental changes; is the most common way of shaking things up. 

In addition to all of the data, the portal also hosts a number of other resources:

For extra guidance on navigating the portal, take a look at our ‘’ section, as well as our ‘’ and ‘’ videos. 

Those interested in how we collected the data should refer to the methodologies and questionnaires available on the right-hand sidebar of each of the thematic pages (, , ).   

The portal is also home to reports which summarise and analyse data available on the portal. For example, we've produced a exploring how to better connect with the least politically engaged Kenyans. This is just a flavour of what’s to come, similar reports analysing our governance data in other countries will follow in the coming months.

On each thematic page, there are reports and tools to support practitioners to use media for development. For example, we’ve featured the communication toolkit from our project, which includes a on how to talk about climate change in an accessible and engaging way, as well as (with ) for co-creating a communication strategy with partners and your target audience.

 is Â鶹ԼÅÄ Media Action's Head of Research Programmes, overseeing research across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.