Community Radio Awareness Workshop Organised at Agartala in Tripura, India
The Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA), the regional centre of Commonwealth of Learning collaborated once again with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Government of India (GoI) to organise yet another Community Radio Awareness Workshop at Agartala in Tripura, India, on 29-30 August 2024. The workshop aimed to raise awareness and encourage the establishment of Community Radio (CR) stations across India, particularly in the North-East region. The event attracted over fifty participants from the states of Tripura, West Bengal, Assam, and Manipur, including representatives from various organisations, who gathered to explore the potential of CR as a tool for community development.
Following an ice-breaking session that allowed the participants to know each other, Dr B. Shadrach, Director of COL-CEMCA, warmly welcomed the attendees during the inaugural session. In his address, Dr Shadrach highlighted the power of Community Radio as a government-backed platform that allows communities to voice their needs and drive local development. He emphasised the supportive legal and regulatory framework that India has built over the past two decades, which included ownership rights, frequency allocation, licenses, funding, and training for CR operations. Dr Shadrach stressed that CRs play a crucial role in community engagement, emergency response, disaster mitigation, and promoting lifelong learning.
Mr Amit Dwivedi, Project Director at MIB, delivered the inaugural address, focusing on the Ministry's initiatives to promote the growth of CR stations, especially in underserved regions like the North-East. He underscored the pivotal role CRs play in community engagement and development.
The keynote address by Dr Biplab Halder, Vice Chancellor of ICFAI University, Agartala, emphasised CR's potential to drive social change by amplifying local voices and addressing community-specific issues. Dr Halder also expressed interest in establishing a CR station at the ICFAI campus.
The workshop's other sessions featured in-depth discussions on CR concepts, policy guidelines, and the Community Radio Support Scheme, followed by a documentary screening on the CR movement in India. The day concluded with a field visit to the local Friends CR station that provided participants with practical insights into the operational dynamics of a CR station.
The workshop was facilitated by Ms. Monica Sharma, Programme Coordinator, COL-CEMCA. In addition to the insightful sessions, Yormung Commence, an organisation promoting bamboo handicrafts from local artisans and self-help groups, set up a stall near the conference area. This stall reflected the rich bamboo handicraft culture of Tripura, adding a local cultural dimension to the workshop.
The workshop received extensive coverage in the local print and electronic media, including by the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=2049951
