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In Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic & Social Council
Associated with the UN Department of Global Communications

Social Dialogue for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Community Radio

Implementing Agency: Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC)

Period: January – December 2017

Implementing Partners: 17 Community Radios in Bangladesh

Country: Bangladesh

1.0 Part one: Executive Summary

Executive Summery

Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) organized dialogues through community radios across the country during project period for sensitizing the disadvantaged communities about their participation in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with SDGs localization.

The project interventions made the community more conscious to get access to public resources such as health, education and social protection. Particularly the project contributed towards institutional relationship between local government bodies and the community. As outcomes of the project, the community was sensitized on local development issues. The knowledge and awareness transmitted to the community will help them to act as responsible citizens which will help to improve the status of life and livelihood through Community Radio participatory program.

2.0 Background and Context

Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people, 80% of them are living in rural areas and 20% of rural people are deprived of mainstreaming media. Community radio is contributing in creating voice of the voiceless for getting social justice, as the media has created opportunities to expand dialogues and discussions by the rural communities regarding their livelihood supports. Under this context a series of 17 social dialogues engaging the local elected representatives and concerned government departments with grassroots community on their various right based issues held at station level during January – December 2017.

As people from different classes and groups including the ethnic groups in rural areas are listening Community Radio (CR) programs, so, to sensitize and educate these disadvantaged communities about their various right based issues in line with SDG 16.10.are very crucial. Considering this enabling situation, BNNRC initiated a series of 17 dialogues under a project titled “Promoting Social Dialogue through Community Radio in Achieving SDGs”, on September, 2017.

The dialogues helped them to claim and receive their demand driven supports from the concerned government offices.

The specific objectives of the social dialogues are given below —

  • Mobilize the trained broadcasters to engage different sections of community for social dialogue and come forward with their need.
  • Raise awareness and knowledge among the rural communities on their basic rights
  • To facilitate access to public services
  • Facilitate the process for making a bridge between the community and local government bodies.

Expected Outcomes

  • The Broadcasters successfully connected the linkage between local government officials and leading CSOs with the radio stations.
  • The disadvantage groups were sensitized in raising their voice in favor of their rights.
  • The stakeholders of CRSs are more sensitized bout transparency of their respective service delivery points.
  • ‘Community Dialogue ‘will be included as a regular program in all CRSs, after completion of these project-based dialogues.

Process for conducting the dialogues

Before organizing seventeen community dialogues, BNNRC initially trained thirty-four broadcasters (two broadcasters from each CRSs) through organizing a residential training at national level in Dhakka on different aspects of  SDG issues, during August, 2016. The aim of this training was to sensitized the senior broadcasters for building linkage with their concerned local government officials and leading CSOs with all radio stations. Some concerned representatives from top network based CSOs as well as government ministries were invited to facilitate some sessions in this training. Through this mobilization, it helped the broadcasters to build linkage with national to local government departments as well as CSO partners and disadvantaged communities living in CR coverage areas.

Methodologies followed in conducting dialogues

  • The CRSs selected a need-based issue in line with SDGs. The dialogue issues were approved by BNNRC.
  • The dialogues were participated by the local elites and at least 25-30 persons took pat in each dialogue.
  • The duration of these dialogues up to 30 to 40 Minutes.
  • A Focal Person facilitated each dialogue. These programs followed BBC standard for dialogue. A guideline in this regard was provided by BNNRC. The organization also provided some discussion materials including a Bangla write-up on SDGs.
  • The broadcasters prepared an investigative radio report and shared programs among all of their targeted audiences, based on the received feedback from the participated communities.
  • The CRSs had provided event reports with pictures at the end of all dialogues.

Dialogue Sessions:

Around 450 community rural people directly participated in these social dialogues. The dialogues were designed to establish a linkage between local public representatives and concerned government departments and their services in Safe water and sanitation, Safe Motherhood, Violence against Children, End hunger, Gender Equality and Empowering women, disaster and relief operation, Quality Education, Mother and Child Health, legal identity and Birth registration etc. More than 45 designated officials from concerned local government departments and CSO representatives have attended to sensitize the services provided by the government under various social safety-net schemes.

The categories of the participants were, Ward Councillor, Union Chairman. Chairman Upazila (sub-district areas), Upazila Nirbhahi (Executive) Officer, Upazilla Education Officer, District/ Upazila Information officer and Social Welfare Officers.

After registration, a trained broadcaster facilitated the event following a given guideline from BNNRC. Some knowledge materials along with a SDG Map was also provided among the participants.

3 /4 representatives from local government and CSOs were responsible in each dialogue during question answer session. A note-taker was assigned to register all talking points including the feedbacks. Based on these recorded documents, the broadcasters had prepared an investigative radio report and shared programs among all of their targeted  audiences.

Community radio as citizens’ media is new avenue  for the Community Rural Broadcasters with a significant degree of success in terms of raising public awareness, in widening media pluralism and the flow of information, supporting local governance, contributing in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – ‘Leave No One Behind’.

Outcomes

‘Community Dialogue’ format is now being a very popular format in most of the radio stations. After the dialogues, the radio stations have received more than 1705 SMS and phone calls from their local audiences. The broadcasters have realized the best outcomes of this strategic linkage among the mass communities and the concerned representatives of different government departments as well as CSOs. This best practice is already being sustained in all 17 radio stations of Bangladesh.

Challenges

  • The project managed human resources and financial resources for organizing the dialogues, but after completion of this project, it will be difficult to sustain similar dialogue due to lack of resources.
  • Due to engagement in respective work,  this is difficult to gather different sections of people at a time in a place. However, it was possible to organize these dialogues as for the proactive roles of the sensitized radio broadcasters.

Linkages between WSIS Action Lines and SDGs:

The concepts of these dialogues links with WSIS Action Line C3. Action line C-3 focuses on Access to Information. The focus of the aforesaid action was to provide knowledge and information supports to the rural communities (right-holders) as well as the concerned duty-bearers by participating community dialogues. The outcome results of these dialogues were also disseminated among the rural community through live broadcasting of radio programs. These initiatives were not only have increased the number of audiences, but also increased their negotiating skills to claim and ensure their rights. The results of these actions will also be improved their life and livelihood supports in this regard.

The program directly links with SDG- 16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.). This event is contributing towards almost all SDGs i.e. SDG 01 to SDG 08 and SDG-13. Under SDG-16, the dialogues directly contributed in the indicators 16.3 as well as the indicators 16.5 – 16.11. In these regards, our special focus lied in SDG 16.10 as a whole.

Through this social interaction, the rural communities will be empowered, established a strong rhizome with all stakeholders in building a vibrant healthy community. Thus, this capacity building intervention, we can expect, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable good practices of human rights (which lies in all indicators of aforesaid SDGs) will must be achieved by 2030.

Views on WSIS Stocktaking and Prizes contest:

The community radio stations are now becoming a good educational platform for its audiences in its coverage areas. WSIS Stocktaking and Prize will be an inspiring model to the community broadcasters in our country. The winning of the prize will be inspiring to our current and future broadcasters as well as CR initiators. In addition , the prize will encourage the initiatives to cover the socially excluded groups in development agenda.

Conclusion: These dialogues facilitated democratic values and culture and most important contribution was access to information.  Through dialogues, freedom of expression was promoted and community need was addresses in local resource sharing.

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