Radio is a lifeline for local and particularly remote communities in mountainous Nepal, where a network of over 400 localized stations reaches a far higher proportion of the population than the Internet does (95% versus up to 70% online).
It is also a tested way of both disseminating and gathering critical, life-saving, local information: It is also a tested way of both disseminating and gathering critical, life-saving, local information: ‘Nepal faces different kinds of disasters, from earthquakes to landslides and floods,’ says Nirjana Sharma, Programme Coordinator, UNESCO Nepal. ‘In the earthquake of 2015, radio worked as a bridge between the people in affected areas and the government, providing crucial information to help rescue teams pinpoint where people might be buried under the debris, or those who might need food and other materials.’
In rural areas particularly, radio is the main medium for people to receive information. ‘And since the community radio stations are based within a community, the content can be tailored to that place’s specific needs,’ Sharma explains.
It was during the COVID pandemic however that community radio really came into its own as a trusted source of public health information while countries went into lockdown and unsubstantiated public health messages started circulating or being misreported.
In Nepal, in common with countries such as the Gambia, Burundi or Myanmar, community radios are a vital resource and an effective way of reaching otherwise isolated communities. In Mongolia, it has emerged as a crucial conduit to the significant numbers living nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyles.
In these countries however, the community media sector is not formally recognized in law as distinct from public and commercial broadcasters. As a result, there is little or no support either from authorities or at local level. This lack of legal framework renders community radio vulnerable: preventing any agreed-upon definition of community broadcasting, limiting the allocation of frequencies, and resulting in a fragmented industry that lacks regulation and funding.
The UNESCO-led advocacy work conducted by broadcasters in recent years is bearing fruits. For example, in Burundi, the Ministry of Communication is piloting an ambitious reform of the law on media and the regulatory environment of community media. In Mongolia, the Community Radio Association (CRAMO) advocates since 2019 for better support - a campaign that resulted in governors announcing they would provide income and workspaces for community broadcasters within all local authorities from 2020 onwards. The Parliament also adopted a broader Strategy for Community Radio Sustainable Development (2019-2022).
In conflict zones, community radio is an indispensable lynchpin, unique for its capacity to convey vital and trusted information to often-rural communities. Operations are vulnerable though, with radio workers among those who have to flee when conflict erupts, leaving stations abandoned. Local organizations that UNESCO supports, such as the Community Media Network of South Sudan (CoMNeTS), enable these media to face such challenges.
CoMNeTS is a national non-governmental and non-profit organization founded in 2016 by a group of professional radio journalists that has grown to become the umbrella for 30 community radio stations. In 2020 alone, it trained 150 journalists from community media stations across South Sudan in peace journalism, citizen journalism, safety and mobile reporting.
In this manner, since 2018, the MDP allows UNESCO to support the long-term sustainability of community media in Bangladesh, Burundi, Gambia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, South Sudan, and Tunisia. Josephine Achiro, Chairperson of the CoMNeTS, observed that it was only thanks to this support that a number of community radio stations in South Sudan have avoided permanent closure and could keep going public debate on matters of local concern.
Working alongside Community Radio Stations
In South Sudan, community radio stations are an essential means of information, particularly for rural and marginalized populations. Unlike commercial media, their capacity to broadcast in local languages such as Dinka, Kakwa, or Muru allows them to reach a wide audience and to deliver well-tailored topics.
But community radio in the country is facing several issues. Inadequate funding is the main challenge; yet these stations are also affected in their day to day operations by limited capacity, lack of equipment, lack of electricity, insecurity in some parts of the country and natural disasters like floods.
The MDP allowed UNESCO to provide dedicated trainings to staff, journalists and managers of 30 radio stations in the country, empowering them to continue serving their communities with reliable information that answered to the local priorities and matters.
Globally, UNESCO’s Multi-Donor Programme strengthened a total of 370 community radio stations in 2021. The largest cluster was in Nepal, with 270 stations. Elsewhere in Asia, activities benefited to
18 stations in Bangladesh, 9 in Mongolia and 2 in Myanmar. African nations also received capacity building support, with 9 stations in the Gambia, 22 in Tunisia, and 10 in Burundi.
Why celebrate World Radio Day?
Ahmed Abdulkedir Yarou-Ahmed Sadek, a radio producer in Somalia, can’t help but smile when he talks about his latest programme, dedicated to local farmers and herders.
Like Yarou-Ahmed Sadek, journalists, producers, broadcasters, and audiences around the globe celebrate on 13 February a media they favor when celebrating annual World Radio Day. In 2021, a record 128 countries participated in the event. The event’s growing popularity reflects the medium’s uninterrupted relevance.
110 years after its invention, radio remains the most widely consumed medium globally. It provides a platform for diverse voices to speak out, be represented and heard. The flourishment of information and communication technologies all along the century did not relegate radio but instead served as a springboard for new delivery ways, such as podcasting, streaming, DAB+, etc.
World Radio Day is an International Day proclaimed by UNESCO and acclaimed by the UN General Assembly. The event is also the occasion to bring together policymakers and broadcasters to enhance networking, favorable regulations and international cooperation.
In 2021, Pope Francis, the Government of Canada or country Presidents such as Emmanuel Macron have relayed the messages on the airwaves, in the press and social networks, helping the hashtags #WorldRadioDay and #DiaMundialdelaRadio to reach number 1 globally. On all social media combined, the 2021 campaign has reached a potential of 200 million people with the message of Radio and Trust.