91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ

World Radio Day in Kenya will be celebrated from 13 to 14 February in Mtito Andei and Voi, at the site of the country’s oldest community radio station. The celebration is a joint initiative between UN agencies and programmes (UNESCO, UNDP, UN Radio), national media stakeholders, media practitioners and community members from across Kenya. The 2-day event will highlight the role of community radio as a platform for communication among members of local communities in addressing the most important issues that affect society.

The event will include a series of workshops on new media and ICT, sustainability of community radio operations and the production of civic education radio programming. It will also cover the issues of responsive election reporting and the importance of inter-tribal dialogue in promoting peace and democracy. A highlight of the celebrations will be the launch of Media Coverage of the Mombasa Republican Council Monitoring Report and The Voice for Peace and Democracy Campaign in preparation for the upcoming Kenyan election, leading up to the International Day of Democracy on 15 September. During the World Radio Day celebration, the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications will deliver a keynote address followed by a message from the Director-General of UNESCO.

UNESCO’s Regional Office for Eastern Africa has organized this celebration with the focus on communities’ central role in development. It will be an opportunity for community radios and their audiences to share experiences with their neighbours and the world, by applying new media and ICT tools to the development of radio programmes.

World Radio Day celebrates the radio as a medium to improve international cooperation among broadcasters and to encourage decision makers to create and provide access to information. Radio has embraced the digital revolution to expand its power and reach. It is still the prominent medium that can carry any message to any place at any time even without electricity, providing a lifeline of information that can save lives.