October 2009
Radio is still an excellent tool for disseminating educational information in the majority world.
Submitted by bward on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 21:28Radio Project Resources
Radio (HF, FM, Community) offers many opportunities to deliver programming of both a humanitarian and spiritual nature. This page is intended to gather together resources that provide an idea of the possibilities that radio can offer as well as list resources that describe how to do it.
Table of contents
| Radio Uses: local news and events • dramas • Bible storytelling • Internet research • public meetings • continuing education (health workers, teachers, etc.) • agricultural news and training • interactive radio instruction • local documentaries • youth programs • weather warnings |
Radio’s wide reach and low cost provide effective communication in rural and remote areas. Unlike newspapers and magazines, radio does not require literacy, and unlike television, radio receivers are affordable and accessible even without electricity or telephone connections. Even in very poor communities, radio penetration is vast - an average of one in five people in Africa has a radio [FAOSTAT 1998 – in 1995 the ratio of radios to people in Africa (not including South Africa) was 1:5]. Furthermore, production is cheap compared to other mass media.
Radio has many uses, from entertainment to education and broadcast of personal messages. In some cases, radio stations have linked people to the internet by searching for, translating and broadcasting requested information on air. In other cases, expert panels or local officials answer questions submitted by listeners by telephone or email, promoting accountability or extending relevant expert knowledge. Radio has also been used by minority language or cultural groups to assert their identity and provide a cultural reference point.
