Lalit Lok Vaani (Lalitpur) and Dhadkan Radio (Shivpuri) receive their GoPAs

UNICEF has great pleasure in announcing that the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, has signed Grant of Permission Agreements (GoPA) to establish CR stations in Lalitpur (UP) and Shivpuri (MP) with Saijyoti Gramodhyog Samaj Seva Sansthan, Lalitpur, and Sambhav Social Service Organization, Gwalior. Both CR stations are being supported by UNICEF India as part of its Behaviour Change Communication programme in these two districts; and are expected to be on air within the next three months.

Saijyoti has been working in Lalitpur district over the last decade on issues around health, education, sanitation, minority rights and community empowerment. Lalit Lok Vaani, the proposed station in Lalitpur, will make programmes addressing development needs in Bundelkhand, along with programmes that offer local communities an opportunity to showcase the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the region. Situated 15 km outside Lalitpur town near Village Alapur, on the road to Jakhlaun and Deogarh, Lalit Lok Vaani's studio was inaugurated in September 2008 at a grand function at which a number of community members and village leaders participated.

Sambhav has been working in Shivpuri district over the last two decades on issues around health, education, sanitation & safe drinking water, minority rights and community empowerment; and also runs the Shri Padmasambhav Eye Hospital in Shivpuri. Radio Dhadkan, the proposed station there, is colocated with the hospital, and will make programmes addressing the development needs in the region, while highlighting the cultural traditions, history and environmental heritage of the region. Dhadkan Radio's studio was inaugurated in March 2009 at a well attended function that featured traditional entertainers alongside a showcase of radio programmes made by the community radio team there.

UNICEF India has supported both stations with technical, training and programmatic support as part of its Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) programme in these districts. UNICEF India works in 17 districts across 13 states of the country, where it provides in-field support to development sector civil society organizations, and partners with the national and state government to improve the health, nutrition and other key social outcomes for children and their families.

UNICEF India has been a core supporter of community radio since the evolution of the new policy in 2006, which allowed civil society organizations to apply for permission to set up and run community radio stations: This has been a part of UNICEF's commitment to communication for development (C4D), a systematic, planned and evidence-based strategic process to promote positive and measurable individual behaviour and social change. UNICEF sees C4D as a combination of dialogue and consultation with, and participation of children, their families and communities. It privileges local contexts and relies on a mix of communication tools, channels and approaches. Community Radio is thus an integral part of UNICEF's development programmes, policy advocacy and humanitarian work in the country.

As part of UNICEF's support to both stations, the teams at Lalit Lok Vaani and Radio Dhadkan have received technical inputs and training from Ideosync Media Combine, a communication for development organization with long standing experience in community media, grassroots empowerment and the development of audience-driven and -derived communication tools and research processes. Ideosync has trained local volunteers and NGO staff members in radio programming, technical production skills and broadcast management; as well as provided inputs on the design of the studios and equipment setups.

Supriya Mukherji
Programme Communication Specialist
UNICEF
73 Lodi Estate
New Delhi 110003

( Via cr-india mailing list)