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Kalanjiam Community Radio - Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: Launch of Community Radio in Nagapattinam
Relaxation of government policies in Community Radio needed for emergency situations

Two years after the Tsunami unleashed waves of destruction in South India, India’s first Community Radio for Disaster Management is poised to rule the airwaves. The Kalanjiam Community Radio is a partnership between the Nagapattinam community, the NGOs DHAN Foundation and Voices, and is supported by United Nations Development Programme. The new Radio station virtually coincides with the Government of India guidelines enabling community radio to become a reality in the country.

Chennai/Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, 23rd of February 2007 - Two years ago, Mr. Navin Chawla, then Secretary - Information and Broadcasting Ministry, affirmed, “Community radio can be an important component in disaster management.” His words resonated at Nagapattinam where members of the Nagapattinam community, NGOs, CBO have actively participated at the launch of the Kalanjiam Community Radio on February 22nd, 2007.

The Kalanjiam initiative is a partnership between the Nagapattinam community, the two NGOs DHAN Foundation and VOICES, and is supported by United Nations Development Programme as part of the joint Tsunami Recovery Programme. The Initiative promises a series of firsts to its credit. A mixed media model that combines radio with video and web based technologies will facilitate the creation of the Kalanjiam community media centre by the end of 2007.

The launch of Kalanjiam Community Radio assumes added significance as it virtually coincides with the Government of India guidelines enabling community radio to become a reality in the country. With the license application forms now available on the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s website, it could be a matter of mere months before Kalanjiam Community Radio Station gets on air. With its production centre at Vilunthamavadi Village, the initiative is piloted in five nearby villages in the first phase. The license will however enable l enable Kalanjiam to cover the entire region.

The role of Community Radio in disaster preparedness across the world is well known. From neighbors Nepal and Sri Lanka to the Philippines and Haiti, community radio has a proven track record on disaster preparedness and mitigation. Ground level experiences at Kalanjiam reinforce the point. The 900 minutes of audio production and narrowcasts on Self Help Groups, women and children health, education, farming and others have already made their impact. Mr. Govindaraj, member of the management committee says: “While hearing our own voice, speaking about our own village, we feel, we have achieved something great. We know the power of media, now we want to make use of it for our development”. On sharing the impact of it Ms. Ezhilmathy, a Committee member says “We see this as an opportunity and a platform for building the confidence and skill of women and children. Our current reach is not sufficient; we would reach many villages if we get the license soon.”

As the programmes go to scale through a mix of Air broadcasts, cablecasts and loudspeaker narrowcasts, the ripple effect is bound to make waves that will benefit the entire community in this disaster vulnerable region.

There is however a small, but significant hurdle to overcome. The current government policy requires an NGO to exist for at least three years in the area in order to obtain a license to broadcast. But local NGOs and people organizations are only emerging after the Tsunami. This affects the possibility for communities living in disaster prone areas to access the benefits of community radio. Policy has exemption for the three-year mandatory period, considering the Tsunami is an exceptional situation it is hoped that this community station radio will be exempted and will start functioning soon with a valid license.

For more information please contact: Eva van Beek, United Nations Communication officer +91 (0) 98 409 599 75

or log on to: www.dhan.org or www.un.org.in/untrs or www.voices4all.org

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