How Social Art Activities Inspire Communities to Pay Water Service Fees
As part of the Agua para ConvidArte Tumaco project in Colombia, residents of the Tumaco region came together to create a work of social art that aimed at transmitting an important message to the community.
The purpose of the music video
Local men and government officials—including Agents of Change from the municipal public services company Aguas de Tumaco, and members of the artistic group Agencia de Comunicaciones del Pacífico (ACOP)—used One Drop’s Social Art for Behaviour ChangeTM (SABC) approach to co-create a song entitled “Al Día”, and an accompanying music video. The goal was to motivate and support a key behaviour in urban areas: paying water system fees. The song uses captivating rhythm and inspiring lyrics to explain the importance of being “Al Día” (“up to date”) in paying for the service that provides people’s homes with access to water.
The target audience
The messaging behind this social art initiative is aimed principally at men, who are in general the heads of households in Tumaco. According to the research carried out as part of the project, men are primarily responsible for paying costs related to the water service.
“For us as a company, this type of activity is paramount, because it allows the community to come together and work with us.” - Yury Cardona, Agent of Change for the Aguas de Tumaco project
The video also explains the process of bringing water to citizens' residences, including how water is collected and purified, and the work done in each home in order to receive the water. This Social Art for Behaviour Change project raises awareness about how the community is paying not for the water, but rather for the water services that provide the water.
The participants
Tumaco is a territory of great cultural richness where singers and artists are numerous. Commune 5 served as the starting point for the search for participants; the target group was specifically men who are responsible for paying for aqueduct services that provide them water access at home.
Michel Rosales
Performer of the “Al Día” song and participant in the urban division of the Agua para ConvidArte project.
"It’s such a pleasure for me be a part of the song 'Al Día'. The song raises people’s awareness—not about paying a bill, but about paying for good service, to ensure people have water at home.”
A Lazos de Agua Project
