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Take advantage of the May weather to stroll along UNESCO’s Headquarters building in Paris 7th arrondissment and learn all about local radio and its strengths!
This May, join UNESCO in celebrating radio through authentic photographs featuring local stations and their service to communities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Accessible 24h/24 between 4 and 30 May 2018 along the outside fence lines of the UNESCO building in Paris, the gallery seizes in vivid shots the significance of radio for hard-to-reach populations through the representative moments from the “Empowering Local Radio with ICTs” project. The gallery are also be available online for those not able to view the photos in Paris here.
The pictures highlight the prominence of local radio in people’s lives with a series of portraits of correspondents, testimonies of local radio journalists and touching sceneries of everyday lives rhythmed by radio.
“We wanted to use the photos of our project to bring attention to how even the most humble radio station can seek and impart information and foster democratic participation at local level,” says Mirta Lourenço, Chief of Media Development Section at UNESCO.
The “Empowering Local Radio with ICTs” project is concluding at the end of June 2018 and this gallery serves as a transient memorial of its achievements and impact. For seven years, UNESCO is proud to have partnered with Sweden in this initiative to build the capacities of local radio and foster people’s presence on airwaves by increasing information on topics of local concern.
Since 2012, the project has been reinforcing the ICT skills and knowledge of local radio stations in 10 countries, all featured in the exposition, with the aim to provide populations, particularly isolated, rural and impoverished areas with a quality and reliable access to information on local issues affecting their lives.
Local radio stations are able to create awareness, interact with people through mobiles and calls-in, as well as diversify information sources and community representation. This quality access to information on topics of concern to their listeners additionally allows populations to discuss and make informed decisions about their lives.
The exposition depicts work of local correspondents and the companion radio can come to represent, especially when it constitutes the only information source available. “These photos show otherwise unknown stories and stories from difficult-to-access places, which radio succeeds in reaching out to,” concludes Mirta Lourenço.
For more information about the “Empowering Local Radio with ICTs”, visit our website.
To discover how local radio can promote gender equality, visit the website of our exhibition “On Air with Rural Women” or come see it live at the 2018 European Development Days in Brussels.