“When a Community will work for its own sake only then development is possible. The purpose of Community Radio is to create opportunities for the community where they can explore and develop their talents and innovations.”This was told by Mr. Aminul Islam, the Chief Information Officer of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, while he was speaking in an Orientation on Community Media News Agency on November 9, 2013 at YWCA Auditorium, Dhaka.
He expected that Community Radio will broadcast more programs that reflect humanity and ethical values so that the society will be educated. The orientation was organized by Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication [BNNRC] under the project-“Pioneering, Connecting & Empowering Voices for Change”, a project being implemented through technical and financial assistance of European Union and Free Press Unlimited.
The objective of this orientation was to strengthen the level of knowledge, information and understanding of community radio news personnel regarding development news production and its effective dissemination process.
The 2 Resource Persons discussed on the thematic area of community Radio news and how it can start functioning in a more structured way. Mr.Amin Al Rasheed, Senior Reporter, ABC Radio and the Editor, Community Media Newsletter discussed on the primary initiatives that community radio stations will need to take up in the next 3 months. In a written paper [handout] he also described the process of news collection, aggregation, editing and dissemination process through this News Agency. He hoped that this process will help a lot to bridge the gaps between the capital city and the grassroots.
Mr.Arshad Siddiqui, the development consultant and media specialist reflected more on the conceptual part-the community ownership, sustainability of the radio station and the community participation in news production and dissemination.
The personnel involved in news at the stations joined the program, they were 12 altogether. The Participants opined that such an initiative on Community Media News Agency will surely play very significant role in empowerment, participation and implementation of Right to Information of the marginalized people.
At the end, the Chief Information Officer [the chief guest of the program] awarded certificates of participation among the participants.