To celebrate the spirit of radio—its resilience, evolution and innovation—UNESCO, in partnership with Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation (SMART), and All India Radio, organized a two-day regional event on the theme of “New World, New Radio” on February 13-14, 2021 at India International Centre, New Delhi on the occasion of World Radio Day (WRD) 2021.
The event was inaugurated by a panel including: Mr Eric Falt, Director, UNESCO New Delhi; Ms Neerja Shekhar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; Mr Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO, Prasar Bharati; Ms Madhu Parhar, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA); and Ms Archana Kapoor, Founder, The Radio Festival.
The various online/offline sessions, during the two-day event, addressed key challenges faced by radio during the global health crisis, learnings and the way forward. The panels discussed how radio adapted itself with the change in technology, in the form of Internet radio, and podcasts.
Our engagement with Community Radios in India, has seen the educational broadcasts go far beyond the needs of students alone. They also include issues that are important in the current times such as - health and psychosocial well-being. Most importantly, the role radios play in debunking “misinformation” is crucial, especially during COVID crisis, when accurate information can help save lives.
WRD—held every year on 13 February—commemorates radio as a medium of mass communication. It is a day to assess and strengthen international cooperation between broadcasters to promote access to information and a free and pluralistic media. This year’s theme for the celebration, New World, New Radio pays a tribute to the versatile medium that has grown stronger over the years. The celebration also marks 10th anniversary of World Radio Day and 110 years of radio.
The Government of India and the Public Broadcasting Services are committed towards promoting radios that are instrumental in paving a way for regional aspirations in India. We are looking at innovating radio with digital programming, podcasts, and hence formulate a holistic response to the disruption to education.
The festival also hosted an online session titled “Lessons from Across the Borders”—including an expert panel of radio practitioners from all over the world—to discuss how the world has coped with the COVID crises.
A publication entitled “Best Practices of Community Radio and Sustainable Development Goals: A Handbook”, that culminated as a result of UNESCO’s partnership with CEMCA, was also launched at the event. The handbook provides an overview of the operations and practices of community radio stations in Bangladesh, India and Nepal and how they are integrating the most important themes of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda into their everyday programming.