Sunday, February 17, 2019

South Africa's Bonang Matheba joins National Geographic's new ad-funded, global series Activate, highlighting global efforts to change the lives of people living in extreme poverty.


South Africa's Bonang Matheba has joined National Geographic's (DStv 181 / StarSat 220 / Cell C black 261) new ad-funded, global documentary series, Activate, that will highlight global efforts to change the lives of people living in extreme poverty.

Activate, sponsored by Proctor & Gamble, is a 6-episode documentary series, co-produced by RadicalMedia that will broadcast later in 2019 on National Geographic worldwide in 172 countries and will take viewers behind-the-scenes of major advocacy campaigns across the world trying to drive change for the world's poorest people.

Film crews are already out in the field - in South Africa, the Philippines, Nigeria and Peru - to film content for Activate that will feature Bonang Matheba, Usher and Pharrell Williams, Gayle King, Hugh Jackman and others. 

Each episode of Activate will delve into a different issue connected to the root causes of extreme poverty, with episode topics that will focus on clean drinking water and sanitation, racial bias and criminalisation of poverty, girls' education, responsible sourcing, plastic waste and disaster relief.

Together with the documentary series, the National Geographic magazine's September 2019 issue will include a 12-page sponsored print section for Activate.

"At National Geographic, we want to tell stories that matter and we're excited to work with partners like P&G and Global Citizen that share our values and want to tell those stories with us," says Courteney Monroe, president, National Geographic Global Television Networks.

"Through this multiplatform partnership, we will leverage our collective influence, audience and scale to raise awareness and drive action on some of the world's toughest challenges. Each episode of Activate will serve as a rallying cry, focusing on real solutions and avenues for their implementation - a strategic attempt we hope will move audiences around the globe from 'intent' to 'action."

Jon Doran, managing director and executive producer at RadicalMedia, says "We are proud to be partners in telling the story behind the passionate work being done to better the lives of others and hope to inspire a new crop of citizens who want to join the fight".