LALA #PutStigmaToBed was a digital public education campaign developed by the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD), with funding from Grand Challenges Canada through its Stars in Global Health programme.
Despite constitutional protections, many LGBTQIA+ individuals continue to experience stigma, discrimination, verbal abuse and physical or sexual violence.
Young people can be particularly vulnerable to the effects of stigma, which can affect their safety, wellbeing, mental health and ability to participate fully in society.
LALA introduced an accessible, youth-focused online intervention to educate young South Africans aged 18–24 about gender identity, sexual orientation and the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people.
The campaign used interactive digital learning, social media and data-free mobile access to make information easier to reach.
LALA was built on the idea that accessible, engaging and judgement-free information can help young people better understand the experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The project exceeded its original reach target and engaged young people across all nine provinces of South Africa.
LALA reached 113,726 people against its original target of 10,000, demonstrating the potential of accessible digital public education to reach young audiences at scale.
The campaign achieved more than 1,100% of its original reach target, connecting with young people throughout South Africa.
Resource downloads exceeded 200% of the original target, while thousands of young people completed interactive learning activities.
LALA met young people where they already spend time: online and on their mobile phones. The intervention combined information, interactive learning and social media engagement.
An online resource platform providing accessible, youth-friendly information about gender identity, sexual orientation and the realities of stigma.
An interactive quiz that turned education into an engaging, self-paced experience, helping young people explore topics and test their understanding.
A Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) assessment completed before and after the intervention to measure changes in understanding.
Awareness and engagement campaigns across Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram and the Moya app to drive traffic to the learning experience.
A streamlined Progressive Web Application (PWA) provided a lightweight version of the LALA experience for mobile users.
The partnership with Moya App helped remove mobile data costs as a barrier to accessing the campaign's educational content.
Early in the pilot, the team identified the cost of mobile data as a major barrier preventing young South Africans from engaging with the website.
The first version introduced the learning quiz and Knowledge, Attitude and Practice questionnaire in a data-free format.
This enabled young people to access key learning activities without the usual mobile data costs associated with browsing the internet.
The second version introduced additional interactive features to improve engagement and completion rates.
The move to a free, mobile-first experience was identified as the single biggest driver of the project's reach.
LALA demonstrated how digital tools can support public education at scale, while also highlighting the importance of accessibility, engaging content and repeated exposure.
Removing mobile data costs helped make the intervention more accessible to young people and supported broader participation.
Shorter quizzes, lived experiences and interactive content helped improve engagement and completion.
Meaningful changes in attitudes and behaviour require ongoing engagement and repeated opportunities to learn, rather than a single interaction.
Digital, data-free tools can reach young South Africans at scale when traditional and paid social channels alone fall short.
These insights are shaping how FPD designs future stigma-reduction campaigns, including repeated, low-barrier opportunities for learners to engage with information over time.
The project shared its findings and experiences with the broader public health community to encourage learning and the development of future stigma-reduction initiatives.
The LALA team presented its findings at the 1st SA Mental Health Conference in 2023.
Presentation: "Use of innovation to reach and to sensitise adolescents on LGBTQIA+ stigmatisation".
The presentation created an opportunity for other organisations to learn from the LALA model and consider how digital innovation can support public education and stigma reduction.
LALA brought together funding, implementation and digital reach partners to develop and deliver an accessible public education intervention.
Project developer and implementing organisation.
Project funder through the Stars in Global Health programme.
Data-free mobile platform supporting access to the LALA learning experience.
A movement for mental health referenced as a reach partner.
The LALA learning platform remains available online. Explore the digital learning experience developed to help educate young people, challenge misconceptions and put stigma to bed.
Visit the LALA Platform