AudiencScapes

At a time when Kenya is struggling to feed its population following severe droughts, radio programs are educating listeners on better farming techniques in a bid to improve food security. Dinfin Mulupi reports.

Relying on a strategy of community input and participation, a community radio station in Uttar Pradesh is changing the lives of villagers. The experience of City Montessori School radio illustrates the challenges and rewards of involving listeners in community radio.

A project uses radio to make the lofty goals of the International Criminal Court understandable and relevant to the people whom they affect. Operating in Congo and the Central African Republic, the project is a conduit for residents of post-conflict zones to raise concerns and questions and get answers of authorities.

A handful of community radio stations are gearing up to report news for and by the people, when and if they are ever allowed to broadcast. Despite the fact that the dysfunctional government is dragging its feet on opening Zimbabwe’s airwaves, community radio stations are reporting news and getting it to citizens through alternative means.By Tawanda KaromboHarare, Zimbabwe— Community Radio Harare (CORAH), an independent radio initiative based in the capital city, is pioneering private broadcasting in Zimbabwe despite facing numerous operational constraints. Its biggest obstacle remains the fact that the government will not grant it a broadcast license.

Community radio programs in India give marginalized groups a voice.By Paromita PainThere has been phenomenal growth in community radios stations in India since the 1990s, with universities playing an active part in the process. The government grants licenses to community radio operators for 100-watt stations covering up to a 12-kilometer radius. Three radio initiatives -- Kishor Vani, Allari Muchchatlu and Sangham Radio -- are perfect examples of NGO interventions at the grassroots level that have enabled impoverished people to harness the power of community radio and have an active voice in the country’s media. Indian community radio stations strive to produce at least 50 percent of their own content with an emphasis on development-related programs in local languages.

by Bai-Bai Sesay18 March 2010(Freetown, Sierra Leone)--Community radio stations are widespread in post-civil war Sierra Leone. But they face financial and logistical challenges, while some observers voice concern about whether they are playing a constructive role in the national political discourse and can remain free of partisan meddling. Finances and politics are often related issues, as strapped stations may be more vulnerable to influence by those who would like to use them as a mouthpiece to push a particular political agenda. National ReachIsaac Massaquoi, head of the department of Mass Communications at the University of Sierra Leone and a community radio pioneer, said roughly 30 of these stations operate in all of the country's 12 political and administrative districts.