Technicians of 7 local radio stations in Burundi are taking part to a training workshop, since this morning (March 2nd, 2016), to gain the necessary skills on the use of free and open source software to master radio automation and digital documents management.
Owing to partnership with the Swedish Government, UNESCO, in collaboration with the Burundian Ministry in charge of communication and information, is organizing from March 02nd to 04th, 2016, in Bujumbura, a training workshop. The workshop will focus on the use of open and free software for radio station automation and the managing of digital documents or archives. The workshop is part of activities planned in the project “Empowering local radios with ICTs”. A project funded by the Swedish development agency (SIDA).
ICTs integration in radio stations makes it possible the automation of different steps of the editorial work flow, from the acquisition of items, editing, programming, broadcasting to safeguarding.
For most of the radio stations, beneficiaries of the project “Empowering local radios with ICTs” in Burundi, the automation of the programming or the management of digital documents remains embryonic. Though some radio stations are trying to automate their programming, using software not designed for the purpose, none of the them uses a software for digital resources (such as music files, documentaries, journal recording, etc) management.
At the beginning of the workshop, the technicians (12 men and 3 women) exchanged on current software and the difficulties faced during their use. Following these exchanges it appears that radio technicians have little knowledge of FOSS. The trainer, Mr. Herménegilde Niyungeko, project manager of "Info Great Lakes" and former Coordinator of the Center for audiovisual digital resource, said that the workshop will allow the participants to discover different FOSS (radioDJ, ZaraRadio, Radiomatisme, etc.) used to perform semi-professional automation of a radio station.
Regarding digital document management, it is the project supervisor, Mr. Michel Kenmoe (Communication and information specialist at UNESCO Office in Libreville), who will lead the sessions. They will focus on the use of software such as Kloudspeaker, OpenDocMan, etc.
By the end of the workshop, participants should:
- demonstrate practical knowledge on the use of radio automation software;
- be able to use FOSS to ensure efficient management of digital resources at radio station.
The representatives of the Ministry of communication, Mrs. Doris Nezerwe (Director of communication) and of the UNESCO's House for a Culture of Peace, Mrs. Josephine Ntahobari, openned the workshop this morning in presence of the “Empowering local radios with ICTs” project's supervisor for Burundi, Mr. Michel Kenmoe (from UNESCO Libreville office). The workshop continues on 3 and 4 March 2016.
More information at: http://en.unesco.org/radioict