Community radio vital tool for development

Date:

By Morgen Makombo Sikwila

Community radios play a paramount role in the development of communities. The provision of information and skills has gained popularity in the quest to empower community radio as a unique and effective developmental tool.

 The growth of rural stations reflects both the improvement in information technologies and a paradigm shift towards more participatory style of information and knowledge transfer. Radio is an avenue for participatory communication and relevant tool in both economic and social development.

Community Radio service offers a model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial and public service. Community Radio broadcasting serves geographical communities and communities-centred interests.

  The content broadcasted is largely popular and relevant to a local and or specific audiences but which may be overlooked by commercial or mass media broadcasters. Community Radio stations are operated, owned and driven by the community they save.

 Community Radios are not-for profit and provide mechanisms for facilitating individuals, groups and communities to tell their own unique stories, share experiences and become active creators and contributors of media in a media world.

  Community Radio acts as a vehicle for community and voluntary sector, civil society, agencies, NGOs and citizens to work in partnership to promote community development.

  The core aims and objectives of this model of broadcasting, Community Radio stations serve their listeners by offering a variety of content that is not usually provided by the larger commercial radio stations.

Community Radio has a great contribution to integrated sustainable development with holistic approaches in a collaborative and creative process that cultivates the social, economic, political, cultural, spiritual and environmental conditions needed for the entire community to succeed.

 It can be used for development, social participation, information and advice on literacy, health, child care, improved agricultural methods, vocational training and protection of the environment in local communities.  Community Radio is essential for participatory development, communication which is need-orientated, indigenous, self-reliant and ecologically sound and based on participatory democracy and structural transformations.

 It also gives a high emphasis on edutainment, infotainment, and localism of programmes. Community Radio prioritize local agendas: promoting health of communities, good governance, justice, human rights, development purposes at the grassroots levels.

  Community Radio stations help communities to identify their goals, create holistic plans, monitor the progress of the community development activities and to create a shared common understanding of sustainable community success and development.

Rural Community Radio is effective in improving the sharing of agricultural information by remote rural farming communities.  In this regard, Community Radio provides a set of participatory communication techniques that support agricultural extension efforts using local language to community directly with farmers and listeners’ groups.

A community radio facilitates capacity building activities.  The exchange of information, networking of groups, the provision of skills and training are undoubtedly key elements of developing a community.

 A radio facility for a community facilitates the promotion of awareness of community groups and facilities in the area as well as providing the avenue for the empowerment of these groups to use radio to promote themselves and speak directly to the community. For its proximate location to its clients a Community Radio serves a local community of its interests.

  It is accessible to the community in terms of ownership, decision-making and programme output. In the majority of cases, programming is produced by the community, with focus on local concerns and issues. Unlike in the case of the mainstream media, rather than merely talking about the community, the people themselves make the programmes.

 This strengthens local culture as they identify with the station; it becomes a forum for a wide diversity of local opinions and views.

 Women will be more likely to benefit from technology-mediated development if themselves produce information that contributes to their advancement, rather than simply consuming information provided by others.

Community Radio to an extent, if effectively organized enhances the capacities of local people to work together address a range of social problems, including poverty, ignorance, diseases and exclusion through radio. Community Radio contributes to nurturing of the creative talents of the community and providing a forum for diversity of opinions and information.

 In some instances a Community Radio station promotes issues of disease control, agriculture, gender equality, education, trade and commerce, disaster, weather, natural calamities, poverty and social problems in an organized way through community participation.

Success stories has been told on the use of Community Radios used to improve awareness and knowledge of solutions to community development problems with  various sectors including culture, rural development, education, hygiene and sanitation, agriculture and local governance among rural people.

  In schools, increased enrolment can be realised and reduce school dropping out of the girl child due to enlightenment; and an increased use of fertilisers by farmers. Good and modern agricultural practices and the sharing of agricultural information is improved by Community Radios.

Community Radio station is an important cultural and educational institution on its own.  It makes life better and meaningful by serving the interests of the majority of the listening public because it promotes culture.  Another advantage is that it encourages high level of participation.

Programmes designed on topical issues can endear the radio to communities.  Major areas include conflict resolution, peace building, family life, moral education, gender and social inclusion, domestic violence, etc. Resource persons chosen from with the area are used to discuss these issues in the local language.

Community Radio has social, economic, political, environmental and cultural impact hence used as an integral tool for integrated rural development.

 Community Radio station should just operate with its mandate as a community radio with a social responsibility of providing community news bulletins, current affairs, sporting, culture and health programmes.

For Community Radio to be able to play its important and significant role in community development, it must keep out of politics and religion and highlights on gender issues. Community Radio should just remain a platform where trajectories and perspectives of the local community are expressed and that for various reasons are unrepresented in other media.

Morgen Makombo Sikwila

MSc Peace and Governance

BSc Counselling

Diploma in Environmental Health

Certificate in Marketing Management

(morgensikwilam@gmail.com 0772823282)

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