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NCRF Gender Network: The power of community radio in South Africa
Patricia Manele. NCRF Gender Network Programming Officer National Community Radio Forum
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South African community radio stations, represented by the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) are situated in townships, peri-urban and rural areas. Their listeners are members of historically disadvantaged communities, with the total number of community radio listeners in South Africa currently standing at about three million.
The average listenership of NCRF stations is approximately 60 000. Communication planners regard this figure as insignificant in relation to the listenership enjoyed by public and commercial radio stations.
Community radio listenership is locally based, enabling community residents to talk about issues affecting them directly, but this population constitutes a narrow "wedge" of the broadcasting market because the stations operate certain areas within specific localities, and they are licensed to transmit their signal to narrowly defined geographical areas.
Nevertheless, community radio stations are mayor role-players in the work of civil society, offering a highly accessible medium for communities. Also, community radio stations are multi-lingual. Most stations broadcast in at least three official languages, two of which are indigenous, and community members are able to express themselves in their preferred languages.
Community radio stations are community-owned and non-profitmaking entities. Through community Annual General Meetings (AGMs), residents are able to elect their respective stations' Board of Trustees, the members of which are prominent and respected members of the community. The elected Boards oversee the stations' finances, develop policies, appoint management, etc. All surplus income is re-invested into the stations' operations. Community programming committees or "listening clubs" are used to obtain community input on programming, and in many cases community members host programmes themselves.
When the medium of community radio was launched, most of the stations were based in urban areas. More recently, many rural communities have been obtaining broadcasting licenses and this has resulted in a considerable degree of empowerment via communications for community residents on a much broader base. Consequently, community radio stations have emerged as powerful tools for community media in South Africa.
The voice of the people
For many years, the radio sector has been a male-dominated arena, but with the increased recognition of gender issues being central to successful social development, the time is ripe for women to realise their potential within the sector.
The NCRF's Gender Network provides an excellent platform for all those working within and around the community radio sector to highlight and sustain a profile on women and gender-related topics. There are 25 community radio stations making up the Gender Network, all of which run gender programmes on weekly basis. The content of these programmes is composed to educate and inform different communities about gender issues.
The programmes offer communities their own voice, enabling individuals to express themselves, anonymously if need be, and share their experiences with other people in their locality.
All the Gender Network stations are run by producers and presenters who are committed to raising gender awareness, particularly in relation to gender rights and the legal instruments that support such rights. However, this commitment is undermined by the fact that community radio stations are inadequately resourced.
As a result, producers and presenters cannot deliver the diversity and depth of material available. The need to disseminate information to women more broadly as a means of empowering them with knowledge about their Constitutional rights has been raised many times. In recognition of this need, the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) and its content partners are collaborating in sourcing and distributing relevant material to the Gender Network stations on a weekly basis.
The Gender Network urgently needs more organisations to join this bank of "content partners". Producers and presenters also need ongoing training and ready access to adequate resources around gender issues in order to ensure quality programme production.
It is only through such partnership and networking that the goals of empowerment through knowledge transfer will thrive and succeed. Gender issues are not the sole province of women - they are human issues that affect every member of society. Together, we can break down the barriers of ignorance that exist, and move forward with one, strong voice.
For more information about gender as it relates to HIV/AIDS, click on the MSWord document in the righthand column.
Contact : Patricia Manele (Gender Programming Officer)
E-mail : [email protected]
Tel : 011 403 4336
Fax : 011 403 4314
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