Empowering Community Radio through Tech-Enabled Outreach Workshop

New Delhi, 23 September 2025

On 23 September 2025, the second capacity building workshop on “Empowering Community Radio through Tech-Enabled Outreach", was jointly organised by COL-CEMCA, Ram Lal Anand College (RLAC), University of Delhi, and Reliance Foundation  at Ram Lal Anand College, New Delhi.

Mr. Senthilkumaran Krishnan, Head of Platforms, Reliance Foundation, Mumbai, welcomed participants and emphasised extending Community Radios’ (CRs) impact through digital tools. He highlighted the workshop's hands-on approach, combining theory with practical exercises in content creation and audio dissemination. Mr. Krishnan outlined key follow-up actions over three months to boost engagement and refine community media initiatives, emphasising the importance of community-driven media for climate resilience.

Dr. B Shadrach, Director of COL-CEMCA, delivered a special address on "Technology Enabled Futures for Community Radio," noting that as a partner to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, COL-CEMCA is actively promoting the use of community radio in rural and remote areas and has registration of over 500 community radio stations, with a target of reaching 4,000 in the near future. Dr. B Shadrach highlighted the “lab-to-lab” model, where labs such as factories and meteorological departments share content with communities via radio stations, and communities respond with needs-based messages. He emphasised that the model harnesses blockchain technology to facilitate content sharing and collaboration between community distributions and labs, fostering mutual benefits and stronger partnerships.

Mr. Rameswaran Kailasam from Reliance Foundation emphasised that the programme leverages technology to reach rural populations, rather than for commercial gain. While highlighting challenges, he reaffirmed the organisation's commitment to supporting non-profit community radio stations by providing “cloud-based solutions to reduce costs, facilitate content sharing and promote collaborative broadcasting”, ultimately amplifying impact while upholding cultural values of shared knowledge and resources.

The workshop ended with a vote of thanks from Ms. Monica Sharma of COL-CEMCA, who also facilitated the discussion during the workshop. A key outcome was the commitment to strengthen collaboration and leverage emerging technologies to amplify community radio's impact, enhance content, and expand outreach, ultimately driving meaningful social change and empowering communities. Moving forward, a three-month action plan was outlined to boost engagement and promote content dissemination via digital tools.