Radio

Channels

• Broadcasting
• Community Radio
• Feedback through mobile phone: SMS to radio
• Equipped mobile phones with an FM transmitter to enable users to listen to radio

At first sight this appears one of the parts of the landscape that has changed little in the past 20 years. The radio, particularly short wave and AM, is by far the most accessible and widely used form of communication across the global south. As mobile phones and internet technologies have become more accessible to low income communities, community radio stations have found new ways of combining these technologies with the aim of providing a wide range of information on topics such as health, agriculture and education, as well as generally promoting social change and rural development.

Examples

Some of the common ways to combine mobiles and radio include:

• Using SMS to transmit important up to date information to be broadcast on radios during emergencies, for search and rescue, reunification, alerts and early warnings etc. This is valid both for natural and political emergencies.
• Providing a communication channel for listeners to contribute news, views, stories and feedback.
• Sending messages to listeners or subscribers’ mobiles advising them of special programmes, competitions or events.
• Mobile top-up time is an important currency: some radio stations are offering to charge a listeners’ mobile phone if they stop by the station and either buy an announcement or bring a piece of news.
• Keyword responses, where listeners are invited to text with words such as leisure, news, weather, travel etc and get automated replies with the latest information.

Promoting rural youth engagement through radio and cell phones in Burundi

For several weeks, local radio waves transmitted an unusual program in Burundi. By combining radio and cell phones, the marginalized youth from rural Burundi received a chance to express their views on a series of issues that affect their daily lives. Cell phones and radio were a way of outreaching places where information hardly makes its way, as well as to engage leaders in rural communities in debates about information obtained through studies that are hardly disseminated among the locals. (Source: WorldBank)

Farmer Radio

There are various examples of farmer radios, which intend to include mobile phones into their programme to make it more interactive. For example Farm Radio International (FRI), which supports community radio stations worldwide by producing short text based scripts which are easily adaptable. A range of topics are covered such as manure, fertilizers, seeds and raising livestock. The texts are translated into local languages and context. FRI has recently conducted a research in five (Mali, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Malawi) African countries on the effectiveness of radio for African farmers and how they might use mobile phones to give feedback to the broadcasters. The research included campaigning, trainings and discussions directly with the local farmers on their most urgent necessities, information wise.