RADIO FOR PEACEBUILDING, AFRICA

Search For Common Ground believes that radio has a "huge potential to have a positive impact on conflict, especially in Africa where it is by far the most effective method of communication."

Because of this, SFCG has initiated Radio for Peacebuilding, Africa. This project hopes to develop, spread and encourage the use of radio broadcasting techniques and content for the purpose of building peace in various communities which have suffered conflict.

According to SFCG: "We want this website to be a useful interactive tool for radio broadcasters in Africa and elsewhere. The site's objectives are to disseminate materials/knowledge created by radio professionals during the project (training manuals and audio programmes) and to develop positive interactions with you."

In particular, Search for Common Ground's Radio for Peacebuilding hopes to help sub-Saharan African radio broadcasters' develop their potential to have a constructive impact on conflicts of all kinds, to build on other successes and to share lessons learnt with other radio professionals across the continent.

Because conflicts in general are highly complex and operate on many different levels, "the project takes the form of a series of interlinked elements that complement each another." SFCG intends to ensure that each of these discrete elements will be pre-tested and assessed in a practical environment of professionals. Then it will be re-written or re-designed accordingly before being taken into a final or 'public' phase.

According to Search For Common Ground's web site:

The project is multi-pronged as follows:
# baseline attitudinal survey of African radio broadcasters' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and use of peacebuilding techniques
# two workshops for radio broadcasters to build new skills and techniques, and to help develop practical training manuals
# the development of three training manuals for radio professionals in English, French, Swahili and Hausa
# the production and broadcast of numerous exemplary programmes in English, French, Swahili and Hausa
# the development of training modules for media schools and colleges in Africa and elsewhere, so that the next generation of broadcasters knows, recognises and is able to use these techniques

After the analysis of the survey, we will select 20 well-known professionals from the respondents to take part in workshops. The goal of the workshops is to build new skills and techniques for peacebuilding and to help develop practical training manuals. It is hoped that the participants, as well as many other broadcasters, will contribute to the exemplary programmes.

Search For Common Ground states that: "the project's most important target audience is sub-Saharan African broadcasters themselves. However, by producing the programmes, the materials, and the website in the four languages, the project has an ultimate, potential target audience of about 73 million radio listeners in sub-Saharan Africa."

The project also provides manuals to help broadcasters achieve the intended goals.

Three of the manuals focuses on:
"Youth Radio for peacebuilding a guide"
"Radio Talkshows for Peacebuilding a guide" (2nd edition)
"How to produce a radio soap for conflict prevention/resolution"

Search For Common Ground feels that the success of this website relies partly on stakeholders in the global community and it asks for feedback on its site and ask that you write to: radiopeaceafrica@sfcg.be

Radio For Peacebuilding Africa (English version - the web site is also in Swahili, French and Hausa)


Manuals