Although the war has now ended in many parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Sud-Kivu province continues to endure confrontation between rival groups, with women and young people among the main victims subjected to rape, mutilation and other acts of extreme violence. The absence of community media combined with the expense of other forms of media in this area mean that many of its largely impoverished inhabitants do not have access to information. This project aims to give a voice to these individuals by setting up a radio station capable of serving thirteen villages...
IPDC project priority: Community radio
In recent years there has been an increased demand for more participatory forms of media in the Pacific region, thus accounting for the emergence of community radios in certain areas. Community radios are important tools for development since they enable the participation of marginalized groups in the development process by offering a platform for democratic discourse. Unfortunately however, many rural dwellers in the Pacific are still unable to access radio due to technical challenges. Furthermore, the scope of existing Community Radios to exercise their full potential as development...
Access to knowledge and information is of paramount importance in improving the lives of poor and marginalized communities. In Bangladesh, the three primary sources of broadcast media (namely government-owned public service media, private media, and international media) do not effectively cater to the needs and expectations of these marginalized communities since their information sources tend to be centralized and aimed at profit-making. Community radio however, has the proven potential to remedy this situation by giving marginalized rural communities a voice and the opportunity to take...
The basic human right of freedom of expression is accounted for within Papua New Guinea's Constitution, thus serving as a tool to enhance empowerment of its people and assist in development. At present, the country has two major newspapers in circulation, with a handful of smaller newspapers existing within the main cities. In terms of electronic media, two television stations and two major national radio stations operate, with links to provincial station networks. This national-owned radio network covers most of the major centres, however certain areas remain outside the coverage zone,...
Nepal's media sector has made great advances in the past two decades, with the introduction of laws ensuring press freedom paving the way for private and community involvement in the media. Today, more than 11 television channels broadcast from Kathmandu, and over 237 radio stations operate within the country, including a substantial number of community radio stations. Community radio has the proven potential to enable marginalized communities to exercise their right to knowledge and information, including them in policy and decision-making processes, and promoting the diversity of their...
The public's perception of the role of television and radio in Saint Lucia is that they exist primarily for entertainment purposes as opposed to being an avenue to voice concerns and express views on issues that impact directly on daily lives in the community. Although 'call-in programmes' and 'talk shows' do exist, the subjects are almost always chosen by the producers and tend to be tailored to an urban audience. This project will develop a community radio station, entitled Harmony FM, to develop human and technical capacity within the community in order to allow the sharing of...
According to estimates from media experts, around 40% of the Kyrgyz population living in rural areas does not have access to information. Given that around 65% of the country's entire population lives in rural areas, this represents a worrying statistic. Rural communities are therefore deprived of their right to participate in national and local debates, and to access knowledge on the practices, policies and technologies that help promote sustainable development. This project from community radio station 'Radiomost' will attempt to motivate community members to actively contribute to the...
At present, no project exists in Panama whereby young people are given the means to project their views to a national audience. This project from The State System for Radio and Television (SERTV) and its affiliate CRISOL FM aims to remedy this situation by training young people in high-risk communities of Panama and involving them in the production of programmes about positive change in their communities which will then be aired on two national radio stations. The project is entitled We Are An Invincible Youth and will target 45 school students in the districts of Arraijan, Chorrera and...
Nkhata Bay (and Usisya, the location where the radio will be installed), are in a 'shadow area' of the communication and information services. Radio signals from the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and other radio stations barely reach the district, and the citizens have now resorted to Tanzanian Radio stations, thus adversely affecting a sense of belonging to the Malawi nation. The lack of a relevant medium of communication has meant that the population cannot meaningfully participate in issues relating to the rule of law, human rights, development and decision-making. Rural women and...
The community radio sector in West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa suffers from sustainability and capacity shortcomings to actually implement the community radio mission of public service to provide communities with self-help for social, economic and cultural development. Furthermore, national community radio networks organised with the goal of strengthening the organisational development of their members have so far been effective only in a few countries: Ghana, Mali and South Africa. While some national networks have been highly successful in mobilising the community radio...
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