Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia
Community Radio across South Asia: Understanding its Potential in Addressing Voice Poverty Dr Ankuran Dutta Programme Officer CEMCA, New Delhi
South Asia
Overview of Community Radio in South Asia Country
Policy
Status of CR
Afghanistan
No separate Policy on CR
Community Radio exists, about 155
Bangladesh
Community Radio Policy 2008
14 CRS Operational + Licensed to 18 more CRS = 32 CRS
Bhutan
Baseline researches are going on. No separate Policy on CR till date.
1 Campus Radio at Sherubtse College, Trashigang
India
First policy on CR in 2002 Revised policy in 2006
As on December 2014, 179
Maldives
A research done by MBC as an UNDP project. No separate Policy on CR.
No Community Radio exists
Nepal
Napal Broadcasting Act 1993, No separate Policy on CR
More than 253
Pakistan
No separate Policy on CR. PTRA Ordinance 2002 allows CR.
2 Commercial FMs providing slots for community participation
Sri Lanka
No separate Policy on CR
Pioneer among SA countries. 2 CRS under SLBC are operational
Afghanistan • Afghanistan radio was launched in 1942 but from that time up to 2003, radio was managed and owned by the government of Afghanistan. • In 2003 for the first a private radio station was established in Bamyan, one of the central province • By 2010, the country had more than 60 radio stations • Now it is more than 160 while most of them is community radio stations, almost 155 of them are community radio stations.
• Now about 85% of the population (app 30 million) are covered by radio.
Bangladesh • Community Radio Policy 2008 • 15 Operational Community Radio stations and 17 newly licensed CRS to be operational by 2015
• About 120 hours daily broadcasting • Covers 13 districts including 67 sub-districts • About 1000 CR broadcasters associated
• Reaching about 4.6 Million population
Bhutan • Media in Bhutan has undergone considerable growth after the establishment of democracy in 2008. • Lack of policy and legal frameworks to support the growth of media. • “Community media is a new idea in Bhutan and, to this end, the only community media is a radio that has been licensed to Sherubtse College” (MDA 2010) • Sherubtse Community Radio, launched on 8th May, 2009
• Selected 5 places for potential of setting up of CR (Tarayana foundation, Ministry of Information and Communications, AMARC, UNESCO)
India • Supreme Court Judgment of 1995 – Airwaves are public property to be used for public good • First CR Guidelines in 2002 (For only educational institutions) • Policy was broad based –New Policy 2006 • First CR station in Chennai – 2004 • Total CR stations in December, 2014- 179 (No. of applications received 1615, LoI issued 409) • Covers 24 Indian states • Union government’s target to set up 4000 CRS • Govt. allotted 1 billion INR to support CR in 12th 5 Yr Plan • CEMCA facilitated more than 100 CRS in India
Maldives • The Maldives Broadcasting Commission, supported by the UNDP pursued a research engaging Murray Green on exploring the feasibility of introducing community broadcasting and the regulatory framework in 2012. • The report of the study was submitted with 13 recommendation. • One of the recommendation was “The first community radio license applications should be called by December 2013 with the first stations on air in early 2014”. • The commission is interested for setting up community radio in the Maldives. • CEMCA in association with the Commission organised a consultation to discuss potential for CR in Maldives.
Nepal • Pioneer in Community Radio in South Asia • All radio stations are regulated under National Broadcasting Act, 1993. No separate policy for CR • In 1997, South Asia’s first community radio station, Radio Sagarmatha went on air • Total Community Radio stations – 253 • Covers 74 districts (out of 75 districts)
• Reaching about 24.8 Million population
Pakistan • Pakistan Electronic Media Reg. Authority Ordinance 2002 allows setting up of community radio. No separate Community Radio policy. • An organisation named Community Media Pakistan has started dialoguing for Community Radio. • Commercial FM- FM100 Pakistan Network radio and DIL FM started providing weekly hours to serve communities by broadcasting various issues • Exists Campus radio like FM Radio University of Punjab and FM radio University of Peshawar • Rawalakot Declaration 2008
Sri Lanka • Sri Lanka was the first South Asian country to do community broadcasting, starting with Mahaweli community radio (MCR) in 1981 under SLBC. • MCR established small community radio stations focusing on particular sectors of the Mahaweli Project, Giradurukotte (1985), Mahailluppalama (1987), and Kothmale (1989). • eTUKTUK - (KCMC) to the community’s doorstep. • Uva Community Radio, began in 2003 outside the MCR under a pilot UNDP. • Dambadeniya Community Radio has been inaugurated in July 2007.
• No policy or legal framework existed to establish community radio stations.
CR South Asia- Addressing Voice Poverty • Break the information monopoly- democratise airwaves
• Independence and autonomy to community in eradicating voice poverty • Acknowledge Common(s)+Unity: ownership and participation • Empower community with responsibility and accountability • Balance economic, environment and social needs. • Journey ahead towards enabling healthy communities.
Journey Ahead Radio could be the most wonderful public communication system imaginable, a gigantic system of channels…capable not only of transmitting but of receiving, of making the listener not only hear but also speak, not of isolating him but of connecting him.. - Bertolt Brecht, Radio as a Means of Communication: A Talk on the Function of Radio (1979)
Thank You You may
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