Sexto Sentido
Nicaragua's first youth television series: 80 episodes on sexuality, violence, diversity and rights, seen in at least eight countries. Latino Award for Excellence at the Shine Awards (2004).
80 episodes · 8+ countries
Legacy · Since 1991
Three decades changing the conversations that change behavior
Puntos de Encuentro was born in Nicaragua in 1991, convinced that equality must be won "at home, in the bedroom and on the street." Its television series, radio programs and campaigns pioneered rights-based edutainment in Central America. This is its living archive.
The archive
What we produced and what left a mark
Contracorriente
The second series: trafficking and sexual exploitation, garment factories, migration and diversity, aired in 8 countries on 12 channels and subtitled in English, French and Portuguese.
18 episodes · 12 channels
La Boletina
Nicaragua's women's magazine: 26,000 free copies per issue, passed hand to hand by a network of 500 organizations to communities no other media reached. All 104 issues, free to read online.
104 issues · 26,000 copies per issue
Diálogo Ciudadano
Voices of Nicaraguan youth on citizenship, environment, employment and participation, produced as part of the Citizen Dialogues program.
35 videos · 2,250+ young people in dialogue
Women's University
Puntos de Encuentro's training spaces: courses and gatherings where thousands of women and young people from across the region learned to name their rights, communicate and lead. A school of popular feminism that set a standard.
Three decades shaping leadership
Start here
Sexto Sentido: a feminist telenovela in Central America
A short documentary on how a television series opened conversations no campaign had managed to open. (In Spanish.)
The journey
Puntos de Encuentro in communication for social change
Institutional presentation on the journey of Puntos de Encuentro: from Sexto Sentido to digital platforms. (In Spanish.)
A studied model
Why this legacy is still an international reference
Puntos de Encuentro's model was evaluated and documented by outside institutions. Between 2003 and 2005, PATH, the Horizons program of the Population Council and CIDS at UNAN-León measured the impact of the We're Different, We're Equal strategy among young people in Nicaragua: frequent viewers of Sexto Sentido were 43% more likely to know the family violence law and to identify a center where they could ask for help than non-viewers. The cost per viewer was about US$0.04 per episode.
In 2008, Oxfam Novib brought Puntos de Encuentro together with Soul City (South Africa) and Breakthrough (India and the United States) —three pioneers of edutainment worldwide— in the guide Pop Culture with a Purpose. It set down the principles that still guide the work: critique the status quo and propose alternatives; use language everyone understands; take on taboo topics and build bridges to the majority who do not call themselves feminist; accept that change is neither linear nor single-issue; create mass-reach media of your own; and combine media, training and community mobilization because, as Amy Bank put it, “the magic is in the mix.”
That is the same logic behind DKY Digital, Miradas Moradas and Migrante App today. Both documents can be downloaded below.
Library · Free downloads
Reference publications on communication for social change
The documents that explain, with evidence, the model Puntos de Encuentro built with Sexto Sentido and that sustains its digital platforms today. The impact evaluation is available in English and Spanish. Free download, no registration.
Catalyzing Personal and Social Change Around Gender, Sexuality, and HIV
Impact evaluation of Puntos de Encuentro's communication strategy in Nicaragua (We're Different, We're Equal), conducted by Puntos de Encuentro, CIDS/UNAN-León, PATH and the Horizons program of the Population Council. It measures changes in attitudes, conversations and use of services among young people who watched Sexto Sentido.
Pop Culture with a Purpose: using edutainment media for social change
Arvind Singhal and Virginia Lacayo, with Oxfam Novib. It documents the edutainment approach of three pioneering organizations —Puntos de Encuentro, Soul City (South Africa) and Breakthrough (India and the U.S.)—: concepts, strategies, theories, evaluation challenges and Puntos’ own working principles.
From legacy to present
Same principles, new platforms
What Sexto Sentido did on broadcast television, DKY Digital does today on social media, Miradas Moradas in journalism and Migrante App on the phone of someone who migrates. The medium changed; the conviction did not: communication is infrastructure for social change and democracy.
Add your thread
A 30-year legacy needs people to carry it forward
Your gift connects accumulated experience with the young people who communicate to transform today.
Fundación Puntos de Encuentro Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. Your donation is tax-deductible in the United States.