Celebration of World Radio Day in Nigeria

13 February is marked every year as the World Radio Day, a day to celebrate radio as a medium to improve international cooperation between broadcasters and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality over the airwaves. This year observance is under the theme “Radio and Sport”, and UNESCO Abuja takes this opportunity to highlight the need to strengthening diversity, peace and development through sport broadcasting.

The traditional sports that connect to cultural heritage, the grassroots sports that anchor within communities, and the inspiring stories that challenge gender stereotypes and covers, equally men's and women's sports is worth laying emphasis on. In contributing to changing the narrative and encouraging the development and advancement of local sport broadcasting, UNESCO is urging all radio stations around the country to stress the importance on reporting local sports, which is no doubt viable of promoting peace, tolerance and reconciliation at the grassroots.

In this regard, a field-based sporting activity will be conducted through a four hour programme comprising brief on the celebration of World Radio Day, sporting competition between various groups of athletes. The opportunity will equally be seized to encourage Journalists to increase dedication to promoting local and traditional sports as tools for social interactions, religious and cultural tolerance, conflict resolution and peace building.

This year’s observance is also an opportunity to explore further the power of sport in general, and the use of traditional sports more precisely as social gatherings for dialogue and reconciliation and to leverage further on its potential to bring about a more sustainable peace in Nigeria and beyond.