10 Ideas for Celebrating World Radio Day 2019

13 February 2019

13 February in UNESCO calendar is World Radio Day. Here are 10 ideas how to celebrate it!

Embrace Differences

To have a fruitful conversation requires us to open ourselves up to understanding and building on the ideas of people from diverse backgrounds. Have an on-air discussion about a particular issue of interest to your community; invite speakers from diverse backgrounds to share their views. Host a debate or a model parliamentary debate in your local council or schools; invite local radio stations to come and cover the event and interview the attendees.

Engage Your Audience

Recognizing publication participation in programs is one way to instill a sense of ownership. Produce vox pops on issues related to tolerance and peace (make sure to engage individuals from diverse backgrounds), followed by an on-air discussion and call-ins in response to the discussion. Conduct a consultation session with your audience and involve members of your community in the decision making of your program.

Empower the Voiceless

Allowing the voices of the marginalized to be heard is an important step to raise awareness, cultivate understanding and promote tolerance. Change your prime time program to address the information needs of the vulnerable, and discuss topics of interests to them. Invite the voiceless to share their stories, express their opinions on radio, and share them online.

Inspire Your Listeners

Real life stories are great sources of inspiration as they allow listeners to grasp the complexities of reality. Organize an online program for individuals to share their personal stories where they overcame their personal biases, gained new perspectives, or put aside differences to work towards a common goal, and broadcast it on World Radio Day. Produce radio profiling of individuals or representatives of organizations who worked to facilitate dialogue among the community, bring people together and build peace.

Foster Partnership

By connecting with other organizations, we can share our knowledge and pool more resources together to contribute to a common goal. Spread the message of WRD to your partners and invite them to be part of your Day’s activities, or encourage them to organize their own celebrations. Coordinate with other radio stations to develop complementary sets of programs or common programs. On issues pertinent to the communities as a whole (e.g. migration, environment etc), develop collaborative programs that are consistent in structure and presentation, but are also adaptable to local information needs.

Reflect

Self-reflection is a form of dialogue with oneself. Engage in a dialogue within your radio stations, review your programs and develop your skills. Are your programs balanced, inclusive and interactive? Review the content of your programs, and the ways listeners can participate in the planning of the station. Utilize toolkits prepared by UNESCO and other media associations as references and as guides for change and improvement.

Celebrate Community Spirit

Celebrations bring people together to commemorate shared experiences, and help them connect with one another. Create a feature story that highlights moments in history when your community came together to overcome difficulties and achieve great things. Invite listeners to share their favorite moments and their hopes for the future. Organize a community event that brings the community together for music, dance, games, sports and other activities, and cover it live.

Put Words Into Action

Doing and reflecting on our actions allow us to learn how to think and not simply what to think. Organize a problem-solving contest on air in your local radio stations, or in your local council or local schools, participants will work in groups to analyze, discuss and present solutions to a real-world concern. Invite local radio stations to cover the event and interview the attendees to reflect on their experiences.

Participate

Participation is an important way to stay connected and to make your voice heard. Register your email with tinyurl.com/WRDnews to receive regular updates, new content and ideas leading up to World Radio Day, 13 February 2019. Register your event with www.worldradioday.org so that the world knows how your radio station/organization is celebrating World Radio Day.

Listen and Respond

Why not tune in to World Radio Day content, share and express your thoughts on them? Download UNESCO loyalty free content, broadcast on your radio and share with your constituencies/groups. How can radio facilitate dialogue, promote tolerance and build peace? If you have any ideas, record your World Radio Day message and post it to social media using the hashtag #WorldRadioDay, so the whole world can listen to it.