Community Media/Case Studies

Educational content for community media: an experience from Nepal
The Nepal workshop and the programme that it resulted in were part of a UNESCO activity to develop educational content for community media. In 2004, UNESCO worked with an experience radio trainer to develop an approach for and then run a weeklong workshop to create a new educational radio programme at Community Radio Madanpokhara, established in 2000 in Palpa District in Western Nepal,

The workshop brought together local teachers and radio producers who identified 70% failure rates of secondary students as the top local priority and then designed a simple effective media programme to address it. Three years later it is one of their most popular programmes and there is general consensus that the programme has made a tangible difference in pass rates.

Key Success Factors
Key success factors were:
 * 1) the radio station’s commitment to the process, i.e. they provided a significant block of primetime for the programmes (now 4.5 hours per week) and free access for teacher-producers to the internet to expand their access to new ideas and information sources;
 * 2) building local capacities is a long term process and needs to grow organically; the Madanpokhara project was designed with long term goals in mind, essentially following students through their last three years of secondary schooling; and;
 * 3)  community investment: the programmes addressed a critical need for the whole community and therefore people (rather than donors) have invested to sustain it -- resources (the radio station), expertise (teachers), time (students), support (parents).

Radio Sagarmatha: Nepal, capital, 1+ million

 * 1) License held by NGO: NEFEJ (itself member-based and democratic)
 * 2) No members
 * 3) Board of directors based on executive of NEFEJ and appointments
 * 4) Managed by paid staff; hierarchical
 * 5) Programmed largely by paid employees: 40-80
 * 6) Focus:
 * 7) * Public interest and national culture
 * 8) * Experts not access
 * 9) * Innovative
 * 10) Proactive in terms of women’s participation
 * 11) Dominated by “high caste”; no political affiliation
 * 12) Funded by ads, donors
 * 13) 500 Watts
 * 14) Passive (public)

Vancouver Cooperative Radio: Canada, big city, 2+ million

 * 1) License held by the station
 * 2) Cooperative of members: 25000+ members; 2500 active
 * 3) Board of directors elected by members
 * 4) Managed by small team of staff; with decision-making by committees (programming, training, membership and outreach, finance, technical, web)
 * 5) Programmed by 300+ volunteers, especially ‘social movements’ and ‘representatives’
 * 6) Content focus on ‘marginalized’, alternatives:
 * 7) * Social movements, ‘causes’, minorities, languages, music
 * 8) * Non-commercial information, culture
 * 9) * Best: alternative news/issues; culture/music
 * 10) * Empowerment
 * 11) Highly proactive in terms of participation: quotas, affirmative action
 * 12) Dominated by women, community, minorities
 * 13) Funded by members, limited ads
 * 14) 5500 Watts; cable FM
 * 15) Democratic

Radio Lumbini: Nepal, town, villages; 1+ million

 * 1) License held by a non-profit coop
 * 2) Cooperative of owners: 200 members
 * 3) Board of directors chosen by members
 * 4) Managed by small group: manager, active board members, senior staff
 * 5) Programmed by 50+ paid staff: FT, PT, programme based, ‘volunteer’ (interns)
 * 6) Focus on ‘community’:
 * 7) Common values, language, news, villages
 * 8) Positive social messages
 * 9) Best: village profiles, local news
 * 10) Reasonably active in terms of participation: women, disabled
 * 11) Dominated by “high caste”; political affiliation
 * 12) Funded by ads, donor support
 * 13) 500 Watts
 * 14) Active

CKUT Radio McGill: Canada, big city, 2+ million

 * 1) License held by a non-profit corporation – NGO
 * 2) All university students are members
 * 3) Board of directors determined/elected: university staff, elected students, radio staff, community rep (chosen)
 * 4) Managed by collective: manager, key staff
 * 5) Programmed by 200+ volunteers: community members, students
 * 6) Focus on ‘alternatives’ and ‘communities’:
 * 7) Social movements, alternative politics and culture (esp. music)
 * 8) Minority groups, especially languages
 * 9) Best: music, community services
 * 10) Pro-active in terms of participation: women, minority groups
 * 11) Dominated by youth
 * 12) Funded by membership, donations, limited ads
 * 13) 5000 Watts
 * 14) Active

Waiheke Radio: Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand
'''Population: 8,000+. Island.''' http://www.waihekeradio.org.nz


 * 1) Low Power FM broadcast - no license required
 * 2) Members, currently 6 but will expand. DJs are required to be members.
 * 3) Governed by a Trust, 4 members
 * 4) Managed by volunteers
 * 5) Focus on local community, specialist music shows
 * 6) Funded by grants, fundraising, membership fees, sponsorship/ads
 * 7) 4 watts
 * 8) Test broadcast running

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