Documents on Evaluating the Social Impact of Community Radio

Every four years, the Association Mondiale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires (AMARC or World Community Radio Association) Africa organises a Pan-African conference for its members and community radio stakeholders to discuss the challenges of community radio in Africa. 147 community radio stakeholders from more than 30 countries gathered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, April 27-30 2009, for the 4th Pan African Conference. Under the theme "Increasing the Effectiveness of Community Radio in Poverty Reduction, Good Governance, and Climate Change Adaptation", stakeholders analysed the situation and the challenges to the development of CR in Africa and defined actions for the way forward.

As part of the Pan-African conference, some members participated in a workshop called “Training for Trainers on Evaluating the Social Impact of Community Radio”. A number of members prepared papers ahead of the conference to share their insights and experiences in assessing impact. These papers are available on the AMARC website. Among the presentations are insights from the experiences of community radio, such as Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, FADECO in Tanzania, and Nanto FM in Benin. The papers also include: discussions on the social impact of several radio stations in Ghana; experiences with social impact evaluation; and the significance of radio in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Sierra Leone.