Background Paper

Background Paper

National Workshop Community Radio for Social Change

The participatory nature of the Community Radio medium ensures that the process of content generation for broadcast by the Community Radio Stations furthers access to information, to media and to mediums – people take a collective responsibility to decide what their communities want to hear and what information their listeners will benefit from.

The processes nurturing Community Media institutions, especially Community Radio – the procedure for licensing, the procurement of hardware and establishment of the infrastructure and the generation of content – with the means to participate, empowers the most marginalised and the poorest sections of the communities like few other Community Media tools. The process, revolving around the right of these sections to participate, also empowers them to shape the framework within which ‘Their’ Radio Station works to advance the information needs of the community.

But, the question arises, how well informed are the people who shoulder this responsibility? Another question that arises is whether those shouldering so onerous a responsibility are formed into a community of practice whereby they can advocate for their access to information – and, can a solution to this include those who will enter the Community Radio domain in the months and years to come?

Accessing information, especially on the social welfare initiatives and programmes of the different ministries and departments of the Government of India, just so that these communities of practice have access to quality information that helps them develop high quality information packages – conforming to the duality of accuracy and unambiguity – is an iteration of their right to information.

This round table involving representatives from various department and ministries of the Government of India pursues the intention to collectively further the process of providing the know-how of various government schemes and support for Community Radio Stations. A range of initiatives like AATMA (Agriculture) and radio programmes like Science for Women (DST) or Hamaro Raj (Panchayati Raj) to name a few from among others promoted by the Election Commission, NRLM, CAPART etc. have encouraged Community Radio Stations to work more closely with governments in furtherance the goal of a better-informed citizenry.

This will help advocate and support all on-going efforts of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for further support to Community Radio within the government – as evidences will demonstrate the efficacy of a people’s medium, it will also help advocate with other arms of the government. Representatives from Community Radio Stations will also be available to illustrate how their interaction with government-led programmes has helped in generation of content of relevance to the communities and enhancing the levels of their information.

Lastly, the issue of access to the best sources of information is also a partnership with a more diverse range of government departments that realise their stakes in these mediums, while also advocating for the participatory medium that Community Radio is.