The Soul Beat 191 - Radio in Africa
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
- Radio for PEACE AND DEMOCRACY...
- New Soul Beat Africa DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE THEMESITE...
- Discussing the ENVIRONMENT AND LIVELIHOODS on air...
- More information on WORLD RADIO DAY...
- HEALTH RADIO for child nutrition and malaria...
- SUSTAINABILITY of community radio stations...
Next week, February 13 is World Radio Day which is being celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of radio, facilitate access toinformationthrough radio, and enhance networking among broadcasters.
In celebration of this day, this issue of The Soul Beat newsletter includes a selection of summaries from the Soul Beat Africa website that look at how radio is being used in Africa to promote awareness and discussion about peace and democracy, environment and livelihood issues, and health. In conclusion, it looks at some of the challenges and solutions to ensuring the sustainability of community radio stations in Africa.
If you would like your organisation's communication work or research and resource documents to be featured on the Soul Beat Africa website and in The Soul Beat newsletters, please send information to soulbeat@comminit.com
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1. School Parliament Program - Angola
Launched in 2009, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is working to foster a culture of democracy and civic engagement in Angola by involving youth in a School Parliament Program. The civic education programme includes face to face activities, dialogues, and debates among students and with government leaders, as well as community radio and television broadcasts. SFCG is using its weekly radio programme Baza Madie to provide information on democracy, governance, and participation to a broader youth audience beyond the student participants in Luanda. The programme spotlights different emerging themes in the projects, sharing them with young people of diverse backgrounds across Luanda.
2. Pan Africa Radio Platform - Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia
The Pan Africa Radio Platform is an Africa-wide community radio network linking radio stations in Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia at local and national levels, to produce and exchange programmes on development issues. Launched in July 2011 by Panos Eastern Africa, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the three-year pilot project is designed to break down linguistic barriers between rural communities across Africa, while improving their communication with decision makers. Radio programmes produced by stations involved in the network will be uploaded, along with scripts, to the Pan Africa Radio Platform web portal. Stations in other countries and regions, both those part of the network and others, will then be able to adapt and translate the programmes.
3. L'Equipe (The Team) Radio Series Burundi - Intamenwa
Broadcasting from June to September 2011, L'Equipe (The Team) in Burundi was a 32-part serial radio drama using a football storyline to promote non-violence and reconciliation amongst young people. Two television spots, a music contest and concert, and messages by politicians calling for peace and unity complemented the radio series. The series is a local adaptation of a multi-national drama initiative being undertaken by Search for Common Ground (SFCG), which is designed to use sport as a unifier to transform social attitudes and diminish violent behaviour in countries dealing with deeply rooted conflict in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
4. A National Conversation: Mid-Term Review
By Mary Myers
This report, published in 2011, shares findings from a mid-term review of "A National Conversation", a 5-year project implemented by the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) - now called BBC Media Action. The aim of the project is to enhance media's capacity to cover governance issues by increasing transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in media in Angola, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania. According to the mid-term review, the quality of the work has been good and the progress to date has been fairly good. The report notes that the BBC WST has taken on an ambitious task and is delivering an innovative and, at times, highly sensitive project with commitment, hard work, attention to high standards, and efficiency.
5. Applying Local Solutions to Local Programs: Radio Listeners as Agents of Change
By Karen Greiner
This report, published by the United States Agency for Development (USAID) in October 2010, documents the results of a two-month field research evaluation in Niger and Chad on the media component of the Peace Through Development (PDEV) programme under the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP). The report notes that the programme content rarely addresses issues around counter-terrorism specifically, but by strengthening "civic culture", the programmes improve the quantity and quality of citizen participation and democratic expression and create a platform for moderate voices, directly achieving PDEV project goals.
6. Akahise Kadasorongoye: Transitional Justice Radio Project - Burundi
Launched in October 2011 by Radio La Benevolencija, the Akahise Kadasorongoye (An Unfinished Past) project is working through and with media to facilitate debates about Burundi's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as work to help encourage the population to reflect on the country's history. Through a series of radio documentaries, newspaper articles, and publications, La Benevolencija seeks to present different versions of history, without claiming to present a complete and final picture. As part of the project, La Benevolencija will train and facilitate a network of radio journalists to report on and encourage dialogue about the reconciliation process. Each programme reflects on a single year of independence and focuses on what happened during that particular year, up until 2012 when Burundi celebrates 50 years of independence.
SOUL BEAT AFRICA DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (D & G) THEMESITE AND ONLINE NETWORKING SPACE
For knowledge and resources on D & G and communication, visit Soul Beat Africa's new Democracy and Governance Themesite click here.
Soul Beat Africa has also developed a D & G networking space for organisations working in D & G in Africa to share information, network, build partnerships, and collaborate. Please join by registering and ticking the box for the "Soul Beat Africa: Democracy and Governance Network".
RADIO FOR ENVIRONMENT AND LIVELIHOODS
Launched in October 2011, BarzaRadio is an online social network designed especially for African radio broadcasters, which seeks to increase the extent to which rural radio helps African small-scale farmers meet their food security, farming, and livelihood goals. Users can connect and share farming and broadcasting-related content, resources, and expertise, as well as work together to co-develop programmes. The project is an initiative of Farm Radio International, with support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in collaboration with Digital4Good.
8. Environment Toolkit for the Media
By Hailemariam Mesfin
This toolkit, published by Panos Ethiopia in 2010, is designed to support media coverage on environmental issues in Ethiopia by providing a quick reference on contemporary environmental issues. It starts with a brief description of what climate change is and explains its cause and the consequences. The toolkit touches on some of the steps that have been taken by the international community to combat climate change and minimise its effects, including a number of protocols and accords. It also includes information about managing natural resources, such as forests, water, land, minerals, and energy resources, as well as information on biodiversity in Ethiopia and its challenges.
9. Radio Biso na Biso ("Between Us") - Congo-Brazzaville
Launched in March 2009, Radio Biso na Biso (BNB) is a community radio station created to help bridge communication gaps between people living throughout the forest area of Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB), and the company which manages it. The station, located in Congo-Brazzaville, is a collaborative effort between The Forest Trust (TFT), CIB, and partners, with additional financial support from the Foundation Chirac and World Bank Development Marketplace. The station broadcasts to the forest region of northern Congo, on 88FM, and works to raise awareness concerning the conservation of resources and also inform people about their rights and health issues.
10. The Role of Community Radio in Livelihood Improvement: The Case of Simli Radio
By Seidu Al-hassan, Alhassan Andani, and Abdulai Abdul-Malik
This case study, published by Field Actions Science Reports, discusses Simli Radio's contribution to livelihood improvement in the Tolon-Kumbungu and Savelugu-Nanton Districts of the Northern Region of Ghana. Simli Radio is a community radio station established in 1996 under the Ghanaian Danish Community Programme (GDCP), an integrated rural development programme. The case study explores the station's use of broadcasting as an educational tool, to promote traditional culture, facilitate communication and information sharing, and enhance entertainment and income promotion. According to the case study, Simli Radio has improved awareness and knowledge of solutions to community development issues such as culture, rural development, education, hygiene and sanitation, agriculture, and local governance.
11. Community Listeners' Clubs: Stepping Stones for Action in Rural Areas
This publication summarises the unique experience of the community listeners' clubs set up in Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo by FAO- Dimitra and its partners. According to FAO-Dimitra, it is a unique experience because in a short time, these clubs succeeded in promoting social mobilisation of both women and men, as well as dialogue, collaboration, and action on the part of rural communities, especially women. In this process, community radio is used as an information and communication channel, encouraging a flow of information and communication that places people at the centre of interactions.
For more information on World Radio Day click here.
12. Under the Mango Tree Radio Project
Under the Mango Tree combines recorded community-based discussions with national radio broadcasts to communicate information about health problems and solutions in Uganda. The radio programme is part of the AFFORD Initiative, a five-year programme "that uses innovative marketing approaches to improve Ugandans’ health." To produce the show, community members gather in an outdoor public site. With the help of a moderator and health professional, the community discusses issues around one of AFFORD’s supported topics. The live sessions are recorded and edited into 30 minute radio segments. Each episode is translated and broadcast in five languages. Listeners provide feedback by calling a toll free hotline with questions and comments about the show, and frequently asked questions are selected and answered in 45 second radio spots.
13. Mieraf (New Beginning) Radio Drama - Ethiopia
Broadcasting from June 2010, Mieraf (New Beginning in Amharic) is a serial radio drama designed to promote the importance of health extension workers and encourage people to use their services, while also raising awareness of health issues, including maternal and child health, use of family planning, malaria prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention, and hygiene and sanitation. Produced by the Population Media Center, the drama airs twice weekly and is followed by discussion and interactions with health extension workers. The storyline focuses on Hibist, a 21-year-old girl living with her family in a rural village in Ethiopia.
14. Bushes that Grow Are the Future Forest Radio Series - Zambia
In January 2010, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project supported the Zambia Ministry of Health to develop a 13-part radio series, Bushes That Grow Are the Future Forest, as part of a behaviour change communication strategy to improve infant and young child nutrition practices. The programme encourages good infant feeding practices and addresses common barriers to exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding for children during the first two years of life. The campaign follows Sister Loveness, a health worker, as she travels around the country to hospitals, mothers' club meetings, and markets, teaching families how to prevent malnutrition in their children.
15. São Tomé and Principe Integrated Malaria Materials: It’s Worth the Trouble!
C-Change, an initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), produced a set of flyers, posters, and radio spots designed for parents and health workers on malaria prevention and treatment in Sao Tome and Principe. The materials focus on promoting the use of insecticide treated nets, spraying, care-seeking, and drugs/treatment knowledge.
For more information on radio, go to the Soul Beat Africa Community Radio Themesite click here.
16. Voices from Villages: Community Radio in the Developing World
By Mary Myers
Published by the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) in April 2011, this report discusses the expansion of community radio in the developing world, explores the reasons for this expansion, and outlines constraints and challenges facing the sector. The report states that international aid agencies are showing increasing interest in community media’s ability to inform and empower, and more governments are acknowledging the contribution of community media to education, public health, and economic development. However, major challenges for community radio include economic survival and sustainability beyond donor and non-governmental organisation support, as well as threats to freedom of expression, especially in authoritarian and fragile states.
Community radio stations in Kenya are using mobile technology as a way to generate revenue, using an M-Dedications system that allows listeners to record and pay for on-air radio messages via mobile phones. The four-month pilot project was launched by Internews, in partnership with the mobile banking system MobiKash and a network of community radio stations in August 2011. The M-Dedications system uses Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and mobile banking to enable listeners to call and record a message to their local radio station, paying a nominal fee for the broadcast with one phone call. MobiKash is an mWallet service that can be linked to any bank account or mobile provider that participates in mobile banking.
18. The Sustainability of Community Broadcasting in Namibia: As Assessment and Plan of Action
By David Lush and Gabriel Urgoiti
Published by Friedrich Ebert Foundation's Africa media programme in August 2011, this report explores the sustainability of community radio and television stations in Namibia with regards to ownership, finances, production, audience, policies, and administration. Station sustainability was evaluated based on community ownership, control, participation, service delivery, and station independence. According to the report, the sustainability of community stations in Namibia remains precarious, negatively impacted by factors such as low community participation, financial difficulties, and a lack of training necessary to produce quality programming in tune with their audiences.
19. Liberia Community Radio Case Study: The Sustainability Myth
This document summarises the findings of Search for Common Ground (SFGC) research into community radio station sustainability and the role of communities in five Liberian towns. According to the document, published in 2009, despite the proliferation of community radio stations in Liberia, their potential to create participatory democracy has not been utilised fully as a partner in the development process. The self-limiting definition of media that focuses on traditional press and urban-based radio stations providing news is one contributing factor, while another is the myth that community radio is not sustainable. The research found that all interviewed stations had achieved some level of sustainability, which was most effectively attained by building community ownership. Those that received national development funding were more likely to broadcast for the public good versus their more commercial counterparts.
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OTHER SOUL BEAT E-NEWSLETTERS ON RADIO:
The Soul Beat 179 - Radio and Television Dramas
The Soul Beat 170 - Radio for Social Change in Africa
The Soul Beat 148 - Soaps for Social Change
The Soul Beat 147 - Media for Development in Africa
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