Centrum Media en Gezondheid

The Center for Media & Health (CMH) is an expertise center which specializes in the strategic use of cross media for social change (mostly concerning health, but also the environment, racial tolerance, etc). The center focuses on communication processes in which entertainment and education are combined (the Entertainment-Education strategy) and is involved in several (inter)national partnerships and collaboration projects. The Center for Media & Health also advises on the planning and designing of prevention programs and interventions.

The CMH often acts as a mediator and facilitator in the development of television co-productions. This usually concerns the collaboration process between national health organizations, television networks and producers. The center organizes courses, workshops and presentations on (the possibilities and use of) the Entertainment-Education strategy and the collaboration process. Projects have been commissioned by STI- AIDS Netherlands, Netherlands EE Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, Netherlands Heart Foundation, Radio la Benevolencija (Rwanda) and Dance4Life International.

Martine Bouman Martine Bouman © Casper Cammeraat 2009

Martine Bouman (PhD) founded the Center for Media & Health (CMH) in 1999. She is trained as a social scientist and is the founder and director of the Center for Media & Health (see www. media-gezondheid.nl) in Gouda, the Netherlands. She is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Behavioral Sciences of the University of Twente and visiting professor at various other universities. Martine Bouman has been a pioneer in the field of the Entertainment-Education (EE) strategy since 1985. She introduced the concept of Entertainment-Education in the Netherlands and laid the foundation for the further growth and expansion of the Dutch Entertainment-Education approach. She collaborated with entertainment media professionals in television programs such as Way of Life, Medisch Centrum West, Villa Borghese and Costa.

In 1999 she published her groundbreaking research into the dynamics of EE-collaborative partnerships in her book called ‘The Turtle and the Peacock’; the Entertainment-Education on television: collaboration for social change, which was nominated for the ICA dissertation award in 2000. In 2000 she was CEO of the 3rd international Entertainment-Education Event, the first international EE-conference held outside the USA. Dr. Bouman initiated a large teaching project to train students and professionals (both in media management and in health communication) to become skilled EE professionals and to create an Entertainment-Education community. She is author of several articles and publications about Entertainment-Education and an honorary member of the Dutch Society for Health Promotion and Prevention. Martine Bouman is experienced in designing, developing, researching and conducting many innovative EE- interventions on television and in new media. She has been the first chair of the Program Committee Lifestyle Campaigns (2002-2007) of the Dutch Health Research Council (ZonMw). In 2010 she received the Everett M. Rogers life time achievement award in Entertainment-Education. As an Entertainment-Education scholar and consultant she contributes to western and non-western EE-projects around the world.