A Short Report 

Bangladesh Community Radio Conference 2012

Community Radio to include the voice of the marginalized Communities in the process of development

Inaugural Ceremony: 25-02-2012

With the slogan “Community Radio for Social Change”, Bangladesh Community Radio Conference 2012 started at the IDB Bhaban, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka on 25 February, 2012 in the afternoon. First ever of its kind in Bangladesh, this three days long conference was held in IDB Bhaban till 27 February, 2012.

The objectives to organize this conference are- to make stock of the CR Movement in Bangladesh, to review the functioning of the CR stations with regards to their operational structure and their engagement with the communities, to understand the difficulties and issues regarding setting up of and running of CR stations in Bangladesh; documenting best practices and success stories for sharing and learning, to provide an opportunity to all CR stations to interact with each other and exchange knowledge, to provide an opportunity to interact with various ministries of the govt., development partners, academia, researcher and United Nations (UN) bodies.

Honorable Minister for the Ministry of Information and Cultural Affairs Mr. Abul Kalam Azad MP inaugurated the conference (as Chief Guest) organized by Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio & Communication (BNNRC). The Special guests present in the inaugural session were Honorable Chief Information Commissioner Ambassador (Rtd.) Muhammad Zamir, Mr. Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, NDC, Secretary, Ministry of Information, Information Commissioner Professor Dr. Sadeka Halim, UNICEF –Bangladesh Country Representative Mr. Pascal Villeneuve. Dr. M. Harun-ur-Rashed from Community Radio Jhenuk 99.2 delivered the speech on behalf of the initiators of Community Radios.

The session was moderated by Dr. Akram H. Chowdhury MP and the key note speech of the session was presented by Mr. Dulal Chandra Biswas, Director General of Press Institute Bangladesh.

Mr.AHM Bazlur Rahman-S21BR, Chief Executive Officer of BNNRC delivered the welcome speech of the ceremony.

Honorable Information Minister Mr. Abul Kalam Azad, in his inaugural speech said Community Radios should emphasize on news which are important for the community people and must maintain truthfulness and objectivity. The grass root people must be benefited by the radios and inclusion of backward communities must be ensured. Community Radios will play a significant role in stimulating the vision of Digital Bangladesh. As CR is a new concept in Bangladesh, the minister said, the sector will need some time for capacity building. He urged the youth should come forward for capacity building, have technical knowledge to run the stations efficiently. He stated his hope that CRs would play a significant role in stimulating the vision of Digital Bangladesh.

The honorable minister unfolded the book titled ‘Community Radio: Rural People Access to Mass Media & Community Radio Directory’ this book is a compilation of the reports from correspondents of different national dailies on respective CRS.

UNICEF representative Mr. Pascal Villeneuve congratulated the organizers for initiating the first ever community radio conference in Bangladesh and expressed his gratitude to the govt for approving license for 14 Community Radio stations. He assured to continue UNICEF support in growing and strengthening the capacity of Community Radio sector. Chief information Commissioner Muhammad Zamir said, Community Radios coverage area should be enhanced to facilitate more people living in the periphery. He also said that the number of Radios in operation is still very low and govt should approve more stations and provide financial assistance with low interest to establish such stations.

Prof. Sadeka Halim mentioned that Information is power and access to it is the pre-requisite for empowerment. She said, ‘People is the owner of information and information is for empowering the people.’ We have been practicing cultural secrecy for a long but CR can support in promoting transparency and accountability through facilitating proper implementation of RTI in Bangladesh, she added.

Total number of participants registered in the inaugural session of the conference is 236. Participants registered under three broad categories- conference organizers, conference guests and participating CRS.  

Day 2 & Day 3: 26-02-2012 & 27-02-2012

The second and third day of Community Radio Conference 2012, Bangladesh were addressed with development issues to be dealt with by Community Radio. Speakers and participants present in 10 different workshops shared their experience and knowledge as well as discussed upon the challenges faced by the stations, yet to be met. Please find below an overview of the issues discussed, the names of the moderators and speakers selected from media and development sectors of the country:

1. Knowledge Sharing on Community Radio of India Nepal Global

Moderator:

Mr. Aminul Islam, Additional Secretary-Broadcasting, Ministry of Information.

Speaker:

Ms. Archana Kapoor, India

Ms. Mr. Syeedul Hoque Milky UNICEF Bangladesh

Mr. Golam M Chowdhury  &

Mr. Shuman Khan, Betar Bangla-UK

Dr. Helal Mahiuddin, ASA University

Mr. Aminul Islam while inaugurating the session, said language is being tortured in mainstream media, it should not be done in CR. He focused on the staffing and the operation expenditures of the stations and sustainability of the process. New license would be issued after monitoring the operations and plans of the operating stations.

Ms. Archana Kapoor exemplified the Community Radio sector of India and presented Radio Mewat as a case study.  She highlighted on existing CR policy, operation strategy of CRS, support system, networking and advocacy strategy in this arena. Experienced from her own country, she hoped the number of CRs will be increased in Bangladesh based on their performance in near future.

Mr. Syeedul Hoque Milky shared MDGs situation in Bangladesh and CR role in accelerating achievement of the MDGs. Though radio in Bangladesh has wider penetration including people live in the periphery, the advantage could not be taken to use it in promoting development. So CR can complement to foster this issue. He said UNICEF is providing assistance to the community radios to achieve MDGs goal 8. He shared lessons from Sudan CRS on how it reached and acclimatized with a marginalized community and changed their lives.

Dr. Helal Mahiuddin referred a case story of Thai community media experience. He described how one of the most backward communities in the north-eastern provinces of Thailand changed their lives through establishing a new form of community communication.

Golam M Chowdhury  shared his experience on Bangla Betar-Uk. A radio, started its journey with two persons now having 120 presenters and volunteers. Their number of listeners reached up to one lakh and fifty thousand which was two thousand at initial stage. This radio plays a significant role in providing free training course to volunteer and creating employment opportunity for them.

2. Video presentation on Community Radio Station of 14 CR

Moderator:

Mr. AKM Shameem Chowdhuri, Director General- Bangladesh Radio

Speaker:

Mr. Faruq Faisel, Community Radio Expert

Mr. Shahab Enam Khan, Assistant Professor, Jahangir-nagar University  

Parallel Workshop 2(B)

Moderator:

Ms. Reba Rani Shaha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information

Speaker:

Mr. Shahid Ullah Lipon, Associate Professor, Mass Communication Department of Chittagong University

Participants from CR Stations

The workshop was on video presentations of 14 Community Radios in operation. Two parallel workshops were held in two conference rooms of the venue where14 CRs currently in operation around the country presented their current status through video documentaries and power point presentations. Reputed intellectuals and media experts discussed on the problems, prospects and development of CR sectors. The radio initiators and practitioners highlighted and exchanged their experiences to guide the new initiators for their way forward.

Role of Community Radio in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction

Moderator: Mr.  Muhammad Jahangir, Executive Director, CDC

Speaker: Syed Tamjid ur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of Change Maker

Mr. Sajid Raihan, Manager, Climate Justice Unit, ACTIONAID-Bangladesh

In the session “Role of Community Radio in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction”, speakers emphasized on the significance of Community Radio in Disaster Risk reduction and Climate Change Adaptation. Speakers said Community Radio can promote indigenous culture and technologies and disseminate information necessary in disaster and post disaster situation. Community Radio can also empower to adapt and mitigate climate change vulnerabilities.

Role of Community Radio in Right To Information

Moderator: Mr. Mohammad Morshedul Islam, Chairman, Mass Communication, Department of Chittagong University

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Sadeka Halim, Commissioner, Information Commission

and Md. Arifur Rahman, Chief Executive, Young Power in Social Action(YPSA),

Speakers emphasized on responsible, truthful and objective presentation of news which can ensure peoples participation.

Enhancing Women's Participation, implementing the Gender Policy in Community Radios in Bangladesh

Moderator:  Ms. Anna Minj, Director, BRAC (CEP)

Speaker: Ms. Sabrina Sharmeen, Community Radio Chilmary 99.2

Ms. Shamima Akhter, WIN- ASWO

Ms. Shahnaz Sharmin-ABC Radio

The concluding session of day Two of Bangladesh Community Radio Conference entitled ‘Enhancing Women’s participation, implementing the Gender Policy in Community Radios in Bangladesh’ took place in the seminar room of IDB Building.

The moderator inaugurated the session and conveys her gratitude to the speakers and participants. She emphasized on the Policy for women prepared by AMARC to be followed. She invited the speakers for their speech. Among the speakers,

Ms. Sabrina Sharmin said, the women are taking part in the main stream media and working with great courage. CR is a newer phenomenon in Bangladesh and she is expecting more contribution from women in this arena. She also emphasized on the AMARC policy on women and delivered her speech based on the policy. She argued for more marginalized women participation in CR arena. She advised to change our mindset on women’s weakness of technology usage.

Ms. Shahnaz Sharmeen highlighted on the women participation in media only in some special pages like women and fashion pages. But the number in mainstream pages like sports, economy, crime the women participation is very few in number. In broadcasting media, women are working on the desk and news presentations but they have less participation in management positions. She urged that women are being used in the broadcasting media for commercial purposes. But the chance of commercialization is less in CR. So she emphasized on more women participation in this arena.

Ms. Shamima Akhter said, CR is very important media for village women. Rural women will be the most beneficiary section from Community Radio. They can listen to the CRs during their leisure time even while working. So she urges for women friendly time slot for CRs. She asked for women listener club and women friendly programs for the CRs. She emphasized on special training and fund for women.

CR Policy and Strategy and Airwaves Regulation &  Baseline Survey

Moderator: Prof.  Dr. Golam Rahman, Mass Communication & Journalism Department, University of Dhaka 

Speaker: Syed Tamjidur Rahman, CEO, Change Maker

Dr. Mahfuz Ashraf, Dhaka University

Mr. AHM Bazlur Rahman - S21BR, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication

The day started with a workshop on “CR Policy and Strategy and Airwaves Regulation & Baseline Survey” where speakers emphasized on need assessment studies and base line surveys to develop necessary strategies for the policy framework of the sector. Speakers shared their experiences of need assessment studies conducted on the stations currently in operation.

Horizontal Learning and Community Radios in line with Water & Sanitation

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Rajshahi University

Speaker: Mr. Tareq Mahmud, PR Manager, Mass Line Media Centre (MMC)

Ms. Mirva Moilanen, Communication Expert, World Bank Bangladesh

In this interactive session of the 3^rd day on “Horizontal Learning and Community Radios in line with Water and Sanitation” representatives from Water and Sanitation Project of World Bank explained the necessity of HLP and conducted a practice session on the representatives of 14 Community Radio Stations currently in operation.

Capacity Building of Community Radio Station

Moderator: Md. Makbul Ahmed, Director General of National Institute of Mass Communication

Speaker: Prof. Dulal C. Biswas Director General, Press Institute of Bangladesh

Mr. Shahiduzzaman, CEO, News Network

Mr. Arshad Siddiqui, Media Expert

In the third workshop of the day on “Capacity Building of Community Radio Station” Speakers said, target of Community Radio is not only to build professionals in this sector, rather the target is to make the professionals working in this sector accountable to the grass roots.

Role of CR in Youth Empowerment

Moderator:

Mr. Syeedul Hoque Milky, UNICEF

Speaker:

Dr. Zahangir Alam , National Project Director of Community Rural Radio of  Agriculture Information Services

Dr. Faheem Hossain, Asian University for Women

Ms. Alicia Rule , Community Radio Expert, Canada

Reazul Alam, Build Better Bangladesh

Involvement of youth and empowering them with Community Radio sector through voluntarism was the most emphasized discussion among the speakers. Discussants also came up with idea with youth entrepreneurship and how CR engagement in different stages of agricultural value chain can advance local development.

Closing Ceremony: the way forward

The closing ceremony of the conference was held in the afternoon. Chair of the closing session was Syed Marghub Murshed, ex Chairman, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Mr. Aminul Islam, Additional Secretary-Broadcasting, Ministry of Information attended as the Chief Guest of the session.

AHM Bazlur Rahman delivered the welcome speech. Special Guests present in this session were Kichi Oyasu, Officer in Charge, UNESCO Bangladesh; Mr. Nazrul Islam, Director, Agriculture Information Services Mr. Dulal Chandra Biswas, Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh. On behalf of the initiators Mr. Tarequl Islam, Community Radio Naf ;  Mr. Ziaul Haque, Community Radio Nalta; delivered speech in the program. Syed Marghub Murshed emphasized on togetherness of the Community Radio Stations. The audience expressed solidarity on creating a common platform for the working and applicant radio stations.

Community Radio Conference 2012 was the first ever Community Radio conference in Bangladesh organized by BNNRC in collaboration with Ministry of Information, Information Commission, Bangladesh Tele Communication Regulatory Commission, Press Institute Bangladesh, National Institute of Mass Communication, Agriculture Information Service and Bangladesh Betar.

The conference was supported by UNICEF and Free Press Unlimited. Community Radio activists, practitioners, media experts from home and abroad joined this conference. Community Radio Conference 2012 has become a meeting place for Community Radio activists and practitioners for knowledge gathering and experience sharing.

It is expected that Community Radio will play the role of a catalyst and facilitate the process of democracy by keeping its role as a neutral media. Out of this, the conference produced some way forward; those can be summarized as follows:

Way Forward:

·         To achieve sustainability by involving community and ensuring peoples participation

·         To create a "Trust Fund "for promoting CR sector

·         To review the advertisement policy of CR.

·         To share knowledge and experience to overcome prevailing challenges in the sector

·          Ensuring women’s participation in every radio stations and creating safe working environment for women

·         Involving children in every phase of program making to disseminate information to children

·         Program content to be developed on the basis of need assessment of the listeners

·         Capacity building in terms of institutional and societal capacity

·         Horizontal learning among CRSs can benefit the stations by mutual sharing

·         Information and content should be appropriate for the community and community should be given utmost importance

·         Empowerment of youth through inclusion in the sector

·         Raising awareness and preparedness for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation

·         Give voice to the voiceless, include marginalized and backward community to the process of development

Prepared by: Syed Kamrul Hasan, Coordinator, Knowledge Management for Development, BNNRC

Contact: AHM Bazlur Rahman-S21BR Chief Executive Officer, BNNRC ceo@bnnrc.net