PBA ReporterThe role of community radio in rural development and nation building in general has been reemphasised at a two-day workshop organised by a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation, Light up Africa Development Initiative (LADI).
The workshop tagged “Strengthening Access to Information through Community Radio,” sponsored by the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), was held on 27 and 28 April 2023 at Akiavic Blue Roof Hotel, Ondo.
The two-day project event sought to strengthen the capacity of four selected community radio stations on content production; to improving the quality of their work around citizen participation among marginalized beneficiary groups, particularly indigenous communities, and women’s groups.
The aim is to see how their contents can help in development by providing access to quality information needed by members of the rural communities.
As part of the activities is an advocacy to Kakaki Community radio. This will avail the participating radio stations to learn about the station’s sustainability after the death of the founder.
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Speaking, Audu Kester stressed that “affordable medium within the rural community that can play a significant role in rural development of young men and women,” is needed.
“In the Media space, community radio stations are accorded a pride of place as support systems for their role in information dissemination, however, the community development of young men and women has not been fully explored and the plight of these young men and women has hindered their access to right information that would enable them to participate responsibly in nation building.
“Part of its key roles is to provide information and lends support to educating rural people in financially disadvantaged communities on good living. However, obstacles such as poverty, illiteracy, fear, poor access to public agencies and lack of knowledge about the right to information and how or where to ask for it, have deprived both people, particularly the women of access to information,” Audu lamented.
The training was being facilitated by Prof. Adegoke Akeem Rauf and Emokhare Paul Anthony.
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