Radio 2.0 for development

Panos West Africa has published the results of a  base-line study of West African radio connectivity to ICTs (internet, satellite, computer, digital storage tools, etc.), analyzing the uses implemented, identifying the constraints and opportunities, and making recommendations to the different stakeholders. The study concentrated on seven countries (Ghana, Benin, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso & Niger) and considered  public, community, commercial and religious radio stations. Two hundred and twenty radio stations took part in the survey. The main tools of research used were questionnaires, interviews and documentary analysis.

Continue reading ‘Radio and ICT in West Africa : Connectivity and Use’

Across many countries and in different regions, community radio stations have been fostering community participation and creating an appetite for transparent and accountable governance, even in challenging regulatory environments. Empowering Radio: Good practices in development & operation of community radio is a report prepared for the World Bank Institute based on five national studies of community radio practices in five very different countries: Colombia, Mali, Nepal, Peru and South Africa.

Continue reading ‘Empowering radio: community radio in 5 countries’

Stella Hughes chapter in The One to Watch looks at UNESCO’s early experiences with Community Multimedia Centres (CMCs) in Kothmale, Sr Lanka and Timbuktu, Mali. Stella Hughes is former chief of UNESCO’s Media and Society Section and was responsible for launching and coordinating UNESCO’s Community Multimedia Centres programme.

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A chapter in The One to Watch by Lynda Attias and Johan Deflander looks at the harsh reality of using internet and radio West Africa.

Since our radio has been connected to the Internet, our telephone bills are four times higher, but I’ve also seen that we communicate four times less with our community.
– Zane Ibrahim, Bush Radio; Cape Town, South Africa

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by Bruce Girard

In Mali broadcasters search the internet to find answers to listeners’ questions, translate them to local languages, and encourage discussion and learning around issues of public interest. Without the internet Mali’s rural radio stations used a handful of old books and last week’s newspaper as main sources of information, but with access and training they are able to find information on the internet and help discover solutions to community problems. They are only able to do this because visionary policies and programmes enabled community radio and provided them with internet access and training.

Continue reading ‘Community radio, new technologies and policy: enough watching, it’s time for doing’