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UNESCO and SIDA’s support for community radios hailed
Community radio stations from Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa have expressed their gratitude for UNESCO and SIDA’s financial and technical support availed through the project, “Empowering local radios with ICTs”.
Speaking during the Project Evaluation and Needs Assessment workshops held in June 2015, station managers, financial managers and correspondents said the support provided by UNESCO and SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency) had enabled them to serve their communities better.
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The first workshop was held in Cape Town, South
Africa from 15-19 June 2015 and attended by representatives from five South African community radios (Bush Radio, Jozi FM, Radio Atlantis, Radio Riverside and Valley FM) and Mafeteng Community Radio from Lesotho.
In Namibia, the workshop took place in Swakopmund from 22-26 June 2015.Representatives from Base FM , !AH Radio, Radio Live FM and Ohangwena Community Radio participated in the workshop alongside two officials from the Namibia Community Broadcasters Network.
Presenting on the impact of the project on their individual radio stations, the Station Managers highlighted that as a result of the project, the use of ICTs in their stations had increased significantly. They said they were using various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to interact with listeners and this had helped them to produce programmes that address issues relevant to the local communities. “ICTs introduced by the project have improved our programming, editorial work, communication and interaction with our audiences, broadcasting and financial planning,” said Ms. Brenda Leonard, the Station Manager of Bush Radio in South Africa.
The establishment of correspondent networks was hailed as one the key tangible results that had transformed the radio stations in terms of coverage of issues of local concern from wider geographical areas.“With the introduction of correspondents’ networks, we have managed to report on issues from a wider geographical area thereby ensuring that we articulate the issues affecting our community,” said Base FM Station Manager, Mr. Marco Ndlovu.
“Before the trainings on gender-sensitive reporting, I never used to make conscious decisions on whom to interview and how to avoid gender-stereotypes,” said Mahasha. “But not now I make sure that I treat women and men equally. I balance the voices in my programmes and avoid gender-stereotypes all the time,” she added.
During the workshop, the radio stations also identified their needs for the Project Phase Out stage. They emphasized that they need mentorship programmes to buttress the gains made so far. They also resolved to help each other through exchange and internship programmes. Stations in South Africa committed to help Mafeteng Community Radio from Lesotho which is still experiencing structural and operational challenges.
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| Author(s) |
UNESCO Windhoek Office |
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| Publication Date |
01 Jul 2015 |
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