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Community radio: a tool for development

Jagriti RohitRoll no: 20133

What is community radio?

Community radio is a social process or event in which members of the community associate together to design programs and produce and air them. It broadcasts material that is popular to a local audience.

What is community radio?

“Community Radio is a medium that gives voice to the voiceless, that serves as the mouthpiece of the marginalized and is at the heart of communication and democratic processes within societies. With community radio, citizens have the means to make their views known on decisions that concern them.

The notions of transparency and good governance take on new dimensions and democracy is reinforced. ” (UNESCO, Community Radio Handbook).

• a) Access to the facility is the primary step towards the full democratization of the communication system.

• People have access not only to the media products but also to the media facilities. The feedback channel is always open and full interaction between the producers and receivers of messages is maintained.

• b) Participation in the production and management of media is the logical step after access.

• Citizen’s participation in radio is allowed at all levels – from planning to implementation and evaluation of the project.

Principles of community radio operation

c) Self-management of the communication facility follows participation. A community radio station is one that is operated in the community, for the community, about the community and by the community.

d) Community mandate is the inevitable result of the process of democratizing the communication system. Community mandate encompasses not only management but also ownership of the radio.

e) Accountability is exercised. There is no sense in having the opportunity to operate, control and manage the station when accountability is not in the hands of the managers and broadcasters

How to do community radio:Louie Tabing

The evolution of community radio

The pioneering experiences from which today’s community radio has evolved began some 50 years ago in Latin America.

Poverty and social injustice were the stimulus for those first experiences, one beginning in Bolivia in 1947 and known as the Miners’ radios and another in Colombia in the same year, known as Radio Sutatenza/ Acción Cultural Popular.

However, even if the groundbreaking work was in Latin America, it was in Europe that community radio first became a vital phenomenon, an alternative to – or a critique of – mainstream broadcast media.

In the West, these pirate stations proved a catalyst in motivating governments and national broadcasting systems to introduce legitimate local radio

In Africa, the establishment of community radio became, in a broad sense, a social movement after the demise of the apartheid regime in South Africa

Community radio handbook: UNESCO 2001

AUSTRAILIA• Community broadcasting is Australia’s third media

sector, formally represented by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA).

• The role of community broadcasting in Australia, according to the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia is to provide a diverse range of services meeting community needs in ways that are not met by other sectors. Community broadcasting is sustained by the principles of access and participation, volunteerism, diversity, independence and localism.

Community radio in different countries

• Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC), NGO Network in Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC in considers community radio a special area for intervention.

• The objective of BNNRC's Community Radio intervention is to address crucial social issues at community level, such as poverty and social exclusion, empower marginalized rural groups and catalyze democratic processes and on going development efforts.

U.S. community radio stations are usually staffed by volunteers and air a wide variety of programming. They generally have smaller budgets thanNational Public Radio (NPR) network outlets, due to the small audience of potential contributors and/or business donors.

• The very famous community radio in the Philippines is Radyo Natin. • Radyo Natin is a set of radio stations in the Philippines. Its stations nationwide broadcast a live Manila feed

through satellite.

• Nepal adopted community radio in 1997. Radio Sagarmatha 102.4 MHz is the first independent community radio station not only in Nepal but in all of South Asia.

• It was established by the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (Nefej) in May 1997. Radio Sagarmatha has been always in the front lines of the fight for the freedom of expression and right to information of Nepalese citizens.

Cr policy in India

India’s Community Radio Policy emerged from a grassroots movement .

Supreme Court Judgment 1995 – Airways are public property to be used for public good.

First CR Guidelines in 2002 Only educational institutions were eligible

Policy was broad based –New Policy 2006

Cr policy in India

Non-profit’ organizations/educational institutions registered for 3 years

CRS ownership and management structure reflective of the community it will serve.

Programmes for broadcast must be relevant to the educational, developmental, social and cultural needs of the community

Serving a specific well-defined local community

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Ministry of information and broadcasting

Number of community radio in India

02468

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Distribution of community radio in different states

Eligibility criteria

Community based organisations, which satisfy the basic principles .These would include

•Kendras ,Registered Societies and Autonomous Bodies and Public Trusts registered under Societies Act or any other such act.•civil society and voluntary organisations,• State Agriculture Universities (SAUs), •ICAR institutions, •Krishi Vigyan relevant for the purpose. Registration at the time of application should at least be three years old. •b) Educational institutions

Ministry of information and broadcasting

Cost incurred in establishment of a community radio station

Fixed costTransmission equipments

Rs 2,50,000-5,00,000

Computer, multimedia, power backup etc.

Rs 75,000

Sound proofing and preparing studio

Rs 60,000-1,00,000

Audio equipment Rs 10,000-20,000

miscellaneous Rs 50,000

Annual costsElectricity Rs 30,000

Rent (rural location)

Rs 12,000

CDs and other consumables

Rs 15,000

Honorarium toperformers, technicians, etc

Rs 36,000

Miscellaneous Rs 24,000

UNESCO: Community radio in India

Role of community radio

Community radio

extension

education

participation

communication

partnership

consultation

CEMCA

Role of community radio in disaster management

awareness

communication

counseling

rehabilitation

preparedness

CEMCA

The World Bank has said: “Community radio stations can be critical enablers of information, voice and capacities for dialogue, in Social accountability and public voice through community radio programming”

UNESCO has said: “Community radio is one of the most effective and least costly means of communication for development, especially in rural communities ”. Again, Community radio activities can help in bridging the rural digital divide facilitating the link with new information and communication technologies

Media watch journal: jan – june 2011

Community Radio in Rural Society: Observation of International Organization :

Radio plays a vital role in passing on information to farming community as quickly as possible. Among various modes of radio broadcasting, Community Radio (CR) is a powerful medium for education and development. CR is ‘characterised as a mouthpiece for socially, economically, politically and culturally marginalised people & as a tool for development of society improved input for agriculture, education and would encourage members of the community to associate together to design, produce and air programmes’

(Srivastava, 2007)

Community Radio: Specific Initiatives in India

The country’s first community radio station has been operational since 1st February 2004 at Anna University, Chennai.

Some of the important examples of community radio projects and audio initiatives working in India are:

The Deccan Development Society (DDS) Audio Initiative at Pastapur (AP)

•Namma Dhwani, the VOICES initiatives in Budikote, Karnataka

•Chala Ho Gaon Mein By AID – Bihar•Kunjal Panchchi KutchJi, Bhuj•Mana Radio•CRS in UAS, Dharwad

Indian journal of adult education vol 72, no-2 pg 3-16

Uses of community radio

Community Radio can in fact start a revolution if used effectively. It can be used for education, farming and livelihood generation by broadcasting programs in coordination with the local communities in their own languages and dialects, on following themes:

• Development of effective innovative education approaches to translate knowledge gained from science into public health and community applications.•Dedicating the farmers and seasonal farm workers in rural areas, organic farming, and livelihood generation.•Innovative educational programs intended to motivate biomedical and other health science students to pursue cancer/HIV/AIDS related careers;•Short courses to update in new scientific methods, technologies and finding.

• Training of health care clinicians and community health care providers.•Better informing and motivating Indian masses with regard to priority HIV/AIDS interventions and services; supporting and reinforcing positive HIV/AIDS behaviours; improving HIV/AIDS information on the radio;•Training and counselling to women who are socially and economically disadvantaged,•Counselling and technical assistance in the areas of finance, management, procurement, and marketing to the rural masses,•Helping communities to get reward for their talent in the ethnic field such as Madhubani Paintings, Warli paintings, Phad Paintings, Thanga Paintings, various forms of murals, sculptures etc.•Health, hygiene, drug abuse, vaccination, child care etc.

Indian journal of adult education vol 72, no-2 pg 3-16

Colin Fraser and Sonia Restrepo-Estrada (2002) reported that illustrate the role of a radio station, owned and run by a community, in providing the forum for the participatory, public dialogue which is essential for social change. The radio station is a platform for identifying and analysing problems and their solutions, thereby determining development inputs that truly meet local needs. Open access to on-air complaints from the audience can pressure local authorities to adopt practices of good governance and transparency. Cheap and easy to install and operate, community radio can also be the interface between poor communities and the Internet.

Community radio for gender empowerment

The Deccan Development Society Audio Initiative at Pastapur (A.P)

•The Pastapur initiative of the Deccan development society of A.P is one that uses the rich oral traditionof the community, and managed entirely by dalit women.

•The DDS has been working with over 5000 dalit women in Medak district since the last two decades.

•Its work has gradually focused upon a string of sovereignty issues: food sovereignty, seed sovereignty, autonomy of natural resources, market sovereignty,- all of them pointed towards an autonomous media owned and controlled by the dalit women from the marginalized section of the community.

Training manual on gender issues and empowerment in agriculture 28.8.08-17.9.08

Kunjal panchchi KutcJi, Bhuj

•Radio programme Kunjal Panchchi Kutchji (Saras crane of Kutch)produced by the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS).

•It is now running a 15 minute programme “tu jiara ain”.

•It is an independent organization of rural women working together towards developing women’s capabilities and harnessing their collective strength.

•The KMVS currently focuses on adolescent girl’s education, basic functional literacy and development of educational curriculum on different issues for literates.

The KMVS has set up an issue based units for education, health, savings and credits, marketing and design, legal aid, panchayati raj and communication, which support the taluka sangathans with specialized training inputs and resource persons who support planning and management of village level activities.

Mana radioMana radio is yet another rural in harnessing the potential of the radio in social transformation.Women SHG in orvakal village , Kurnool, A.P, run this radio.The radio programmes cover topics related to education , child labor, illiteracy, gender, agriculture health, history, culture etc.Experiences amply demonstrate the potential of rural people to communicate effectively in their languages with their own resources. Training manual on gender issues and

empowerment in agriculture 28.8.08-17.9.08

Building Solidarities A Case of Community Radio in Jharkhand VINOD PAVARALA

Case study

Economic and political weekly, 2003

This paper is based on detailed evaluation research undertaken to examine the functioning of one such community radio initiative in India. Broadly modelled after the KMVS project, ‘Chala Ho Gaon Mein’ is a community radio programmes up ported by the National Foundation for India and produced by community representatives of Alternative for India Development (AID), an NGO. The programme is broadcast once a week on AIR Daltonganj in the Palamau district of Jharkhand.

AID-Jharkhand, a subsidiary of Alternative For India Development, covers 1,622 villages and a population of 837,500 people. It has been working in Palamau for almost a decade now, through youth groups, women’s groups, and community organisations, on education, reproductive health, micro-credit for women, child marriages, and alcoholism.

From August 5, 2001, the National Foundation for India, in collaboration with Alternative for India Development-Jharkhand and their technical partner, Manthan started airing a community radio programme on the local All India Radio FM station at Daltonganj. The 30-minute programme, Chala Ho Gaon Mein is broadcast every Sunday on FM band at 7.15 pm and covers 45 villages in Lesliganj and Panki blocks of Palamau.

Community radio project among the listeners who were from villages close to Daltongunj or where the reporters and listeners’ clubs were active. If the reporters frequented a village, people developed a sense of familiarity with him and came forward with programme ideas and suggestions.

There seems to be a culture of radio listening in the area, aswas evident from the sight of farmers returning from or goingto their fields, with radio sets slung on their shoulders.

In many of the villages, several people reported that they have converted their existing radio sets into FM receivers because they wanted to listen to Chala Ho Gaon Mein.

People closely connected with the project at the field level admit that there are few areas in which women’s involvement in ‘Chala Ho Gaon Mein’ is still unsatisfactory. Women do not listen as much or as attentively as men; their participation in programme production is minimal; and, women’s issues are not covered adequately in the programme.

The habit of group listening by men, with friends or neighbours, as well as the domestic division of labour ensures that women rarely get an environment conducive for listening.

When asked what makes them listen to ‘Chala Ho Gaon Mein’ regularly, many people felt that it is the local content of the programme and the language in which it is broadcast that attracts them.

Listenership of ‘Chala Ho Gaon Mein’ among women seemsto be tied in also to their participation in programme production.

Except for the news, which is in Hindi, the rest of theprogramme uses a mixture of Bhojpuri and Magadhi, the lingua franca of the region.

The programme’s popularity is to a large extent because of its focus on locally relevant issues. The community reporters of AID travel in and around the villages, carrying back with them reports of local problems and developments, folk songs and folk tales from the region, and record plays on local issues with performers from the villages.

Even if there is no benefit to their village, other villages in the neighbourhood are gaining something from the programme. At least it is the poor somewhere who are getting benefit.

•The programme promoted an atmosphere of debate and discussion on important issues, such as illiteracy and child marriage. •In his words, the programme has ‘brought light to those who have been living in darkness.

Identified the major issues on which the programme is made, viz, alcoholism, dowry problem, superstition, bribery, literacy, and child marriage.

Several people claimed, for instance, that consumption of alcohol in the villages has come down after the programme started.

•‘Chala Ho Gaon Mein’ is indeed a unique experiment in using media technologies, especially radio, for development and empowerment of marginalised, rural communities. •Designed as a community-driven project, it takes on a special significance in an economically deprived area, marked by illiteracy and the relatively indifferent attitude of the state as well as the mainstream media towards the problems of the region.

•Within a short time, the programme has generated a great deal of enthusiasm among the people.

• Listeners not only feel that the programme is geographically and culturally more intimate to their lives, but also gradually, a sense of attachment to the programme is beginning to build up.

COMMUNITY RADIO FOR SOCIAL CHANGEEvaluating Chala Ho Gaon Mein in Jharkhand

ByVINOD PAVARALA

&KANCHAN K. MALIK

University of Hyderabad

2009

A qualitative evaluation of Chala Ho Gaon Mein (CHGM) was again carried out by means of a 10-day field visit to the Palamau, Garhwa and Latehar districts in Jharkhand from December 7 to 16, 2007 by Prof. Vinod Pavarala and Dr. Kanchan K. Malik with assistance from the AID staff and a couple of field researchers.

The study undertaken in 2002 had observed that although there is some kind of culture of radio listening, the number of radio sets capable of receiving the FM signal is still too low.

The research team found out that with a view to increase listenership, in the past five years, 400 FM radio sets have been provided to women self-help groups (SHGs) and in remote villages and also to the Gram Sabhas.

•The evaluation team found out that although CHGM was now being broadcast twice a week and its coverage area included two new districts and 115 more villages, the number of CR reporters had in factbeen brought down from 14 in 2002 to only six now.

•The evaluation team was quite amazed to find that there was not a single woman among the reporters now working for CHGM. In the year 2002, four out of the 12 reporters of CHGM were women.

•Chala Ho Gaon Mein earlier focused on issues related to five subjects – education, health, superstition, alcoholism and corruption. It now takes what AID calls the “rights” approach – focusing on right to information, right to employment, etc.

•It looked like AID had failed to deepen or strengthen a sense of ownership among the listeners, especially among the women.

The evaluation team discovered that there have been some major shifts in the approach and implementation of the project.

A second issue of concern to the evaluation team was the conspicuous change in the scale of operations of the radio programme.

This scaling up of the operations has led to the decline in participation of the people in the villages in the selection of issues, planning and production, and post-production activities.

The evaluation team could not but notice the complete absence of gender representation in the group of reporters. Many of the vibrant women reporters we had met five years ago had all left the project and no new recruits came in their place.

No special effort seems to have been made to improve thisthrough community listening in women’s groups as was suggested earlier.

Some of the significant changes mentioned often in village-level focus group discussions as well as by AID functionaries seem somewhat clichéd – reduced alcoholism, decline in dowry demands, increase in girls’ literacy, etc. – and are not necessarily a direct result of the radio programme alone.

One thing Chala Ho Gaon Mein as a community radio initiative seems to continue to do is promote the local language and culture in its content.

Now that AID has obtained a community radio license to broadcast, it has additional tools in its hands to further its own vision of social change in Jharkhand.

Kunjal Panchchi KutchJi, BhujCOMMUNITY RADIO IN BANGALORE: A CASE STUDY

ON RADIO ACTIVE COMMUNITY RADIO Christ university

Pushpinder Kaur 2012

This study is about Radio Active, 90.4 MHz community radio, Bangalore's 12th radio station and first community radio station.

Radio Active which is an urban community radio caters to heterogeneous and diverse groups, where people from different communities are encouraged to make use of the station for their development .An audience survey, conducted revealed that 96% of the local respondents listen to their community radio station because through this platform they get to hear the voices of their community, followed by the need for the information, entertainment and liking for the programmes broadcasted by the community radio.

Work from our divisionImpact of community radio station ‘Namma Dhwani’ on people’s socio economic and

cultural development in Budikote, Karnataka

Rakesh Kumar k2008

A partnership between VOICES, the poor farmer community, the NGO MYRADA and supported by UNESCO, Namma Dhwani is the community information and media centre located at Budikote, Karnataka.

Namma Dhwani (Our Voices) was initiated in 2000, and started functioning from 2002 with the aim to empower the villagers by sourcing, producing and using locally relevant information through community based audio and internet technologies.

The programming schedule has regular slots devoted to women. The programmes have increased levels of awareness among village women by focusing on topics such as anti-dowry legislation, reproductive health etc. A partnership between VOICES, the poor farmer community, the NGO MYRADA and supported by UNESCO, Namma Dhwani is the community information and media centre located at Budikote, Karnataka.

The study was conducted in karnataka state in budikote village of kolar district.

The overall social impact of Namma Dhwani indicated that due to participation and awareness creation in namma dhwani programme had great impact on leadership behavior. Health and sanitation, education, food habits and family system were the other having the impact .

Salient findings

The overall economic impact of namma dhwani programmes indicated that more changes has occurred in savings which was ranked first among impact dimensions which has followed by investments, income maintenance of creditworthiness and employment opportunities were ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

In the overall cultural impact, the programmes on folk songs had more affect on the people which was ranked first, second place was accorded to removal of misconceptions about health care , third being learning more about their own culture, followed by revival of the lost cultural folk songs, clarification of superstitious beliefs and acculturation of various ethnic linguistic groups were given fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Problems involved in operating community radio

Power breakdown was the most important constraint faced by Namma Dhwani.

Internet connectivity breakdown was accorded the second rank.

Laying down of cables, was costlier and at the same time difficult to cover up people who did not have the cable.

Lack of IT literacy was found.

The production of some need based programmes was found to be time consuming

The information can reach only to those who have radio sets.

Some of the minor problem was of low efficiency, lack of incentives and more service charges.

Visit to Jamia Community Radio @90.4 MHz

Jamia Community Radio (JCR) is a programme of the Jamia Millia Islamia, a Central University. It operates on 90.4 MHz frequency. It broadcasts its programmes for six hours daily between 10:00 am – 1:00 pm and 2:00 – 5:00 pm.

•Radio Jamia has a clear vision for the upliftment of the society and to create a scientific temperament among the listeners through its programmes.

•As of now we have no official collaboration with any NGO or Government agencies.

Languages of Broadcast: Hindi and Urdu

Sustainability StrategyThey are self-sustained and funded by University funds as a budgeted activity.

Key Challenges FacedThe key challenges faced are unwillingness of experts/community members to remain actively engaged in the programme and management of the CR Station. This is primarily because they do not have enough dedicated funds for more staff. They also face staff crunch.

•However, despite a lot of success stories from around the world and in India itself, setting up and running an effective community radio faces a lot of challenges.

• It is difficult to create enthusiastic community participation and requires time and resources to train local residents in social, business, creative and IT skills.

• Avoidance of over-reliance on paid staff is recommended, while at the same time countering their objections to volunteerism is a difficult task.

Most community radios today run on a Donor system, where an organization sets up the infrastructure and helps in the airing of programs and content.

Difficulties faced

•This however, slowly needs to be phased out, as a community radio essentially needs to be run by the people and should survive on volunteerism, and hence ownership should be passed over to local-ites.

•More importantly, it often becomes difficult to imbibe altruistic motives over monetary and personal motives in all the people involved in the project, including the donor organization.

•There are usually problems with spectrum availability for a CR in a local area.

•Moreover, radios even today are not allowed to air news or news related broadcasts, thus restricting content.

The reasons are many – lack of community interest, insufficient content, sporadic financial assistance and insufficient support by the donor.

All these, combined with the bureaucratic problems of getting a license hinder the process of growth of community radios in India, making it long and cumbersome.

•The biggest issue however, is that of sustainability. It is commonplace for a radio to be set up, yet last a very short time period.

ConclusionDue to its focus on local concern and aspiration and the interactive nature of its programming, community radio can be powerful medium for education and development of the community .

The experience in number of developing countries including India in using community radio for such purposes has clearly demonstrated its tremendous potential for the development of farming community.

There is growing acceptance of community radio in the country.

However this service needs continuous back up from the institution till it reaches sustainability.

Way ahead

Government policies need to be relaxed further, to perhaps allow corporations to set up Community Radios as a part of their CSR activities.

Limited and restricted advertising can be allowed in as it will provide an alternate source of revenue, as has been seen in some models in existence in other countries.

Charges can be introduced for local messages and announcements on the radio.

Along with this, a micro-credit system should be put in place to encourage the setting up of community radios.

Moreover, CRs can be brought under State activities like rural development, women empowerment and other welfare measures, where it can be used to take part in and broadcast informative programs.

To ensure a regular supply of good quality content, information from government agencies regarding local welfare programmes should be made available to community radios to spread awareness.

It is also important for donors to design projects with low operational costs, equip them with technologies that are appropriate for the environment of that particular community and train the people adequately to ensure long term sustainability of the project.

Involving Local leaders, elders, religious leaders, women, different occupational groups like farmers, fishermen, artisans, minority groups

This is a miraculous power. I see

Shakti, the miraculous power of God

in it [radio].

Mahatma Gandhi

Radio is the theatre of the mind

Steve Allen

TV gives everyone an image, but radio gives

birth to a million images in a million brains.

Peggy Nonan