CI/FEM/MAS UNESCO | 1 JUNE 2017

Empowering Local Radio with ICTs ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2016

ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2016

PROJECT TITLE

Empowering Local Radio with ICTs

BENEFICIARY COUNTRY OR REGION:

Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

UNESCO BUDGET CODE AND DONOR REFERENCE IF APPROPRIATE

503RAF5001

FUNDING SOURCE

The government of Sweden, through The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

TOTAL BUDGET APPROVED

30 million SEK

REPORTING PERIOD

January – December 2016

EXECUTING AGENCY

UNESCO

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

UN system, governments, professional associations, media houses and NGOs

PROJECT STARTING DATE

28/11/2014

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE

30/06/2018

RESPONSIBLE SECTOR

CI/FEM/MAS

NAME OF PERSON SUBMITTING REPORT

Mirta Lourenço, Chief CI/FEM/MAS

Table of Contents

I. SUMMARY & BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................... 1

II. PROGRESS TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES ............................................. 3

Expected Result N°1: Local radio stations have provided social service .................................................. 3

Expected Result N°2: Local radio news from an increased geographical range within signal area.......... 9

Expected Result N°3: Sustainability of local radio stations reinforced ................................................... 11

III. SUSTAINABILITY ..................................................................................................................................... 13

IV. VISIBILITY ............................................................................................................................................... 15

V. CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT ...................................................................................................... 16

VI. SYNERGIES.............................................................................................................................................. 19

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I. SUMMARY & BACKGROUND

During the second year (January to December 2016) of implementation of the project “Empowering Local

Radio with ICTs” (phase II), UNESCO continued to reinforce the capacities of local radio stations to provide

their audiences with a programming on issues of local concern that represents the diversity of their

audiences. The radio stations are increasingly able to broadcast on matters that are central to the

communities they serve, but that are of scarce or no interest to mainstream media and would therefore

otherwise be neglected. UNESCO’s action has thus helped poor and marginalized communities to find a

democratic space in local media where to voice concerns and suggestions to improve their lives.

Twenty-seven community radio stations from six countries (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda) have participated in and benefitted from a comprehensive set of

trainings. Thirty-two radio stations from the first phase of the project were phased out, after receiving

mentorship to ensure the sustainability of project’s results. Capacity-building activities, which were

conducted through both group and in-house workshops, were aimed at increasing the knowledge of local

media practitioners on a large range of issues: editing, programming and monitoring; gender focus in radio

formats; investigative journalism; production of radio programmes in areas of local concern; broadcasting

and management software; use of ICTs in radio programming and diffusion; role of correspondents to

feed local news and collect testimonies; use of ICTs for correspondents for interviewing and reporting;

marketing strategies; entrepreneurship and income generation; gender focus in editorial work; among

others.

In total, 610 radio practitioners (journalists, correspondents, admin, managers, board members, etc.),

whom at least 234 were women1, have benefitted from the 89 trainings organized in 2016. Every activity

carried-out by the Organization integrates a specific focus on gender. In order to achieve gender-balance

and gender-equality both in the stations’ operations and in their editorial content, there is a deliberate

intention by UNESCO officers and the stations’ management to actively seek out women’s participation

in all trainings and programmes, both as journalists/correspondents and sources/experts.

After the trainings, radio stations increased in both quantity and quality of content on issues of local

concern, including gender-focused programmes. Listeners, especially women, are interacting more with

their stations by giving their opinions and asking questions through call-ins, SMS, WhatsApp and social

media. Stations are expanding their coverage of local news thanks to contributions sent by their network

of correspondents. They are increasingly creating marketing strategies and diversifying their income

sources to strengthen their financial sustainability.

The high receptivity to community broadcasting in the targeted countries indicates social and cultural

recognition of both the value of UNESCO’s action in this area and its importance for the overall growth

and development of media pluralism. Sustainability of this project has been guaranteed through a number

of approaches, namely reinforcing institutional capacities, local ownership and diversifying funding

sources.

UNESCO also assured high visibility, globally and in target countries, through following a communication

strategy tailored specifically for the project. International days and various events served as a great

1 In Tanzania, trainers did not provide the number of participants disaggregated by gender.

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opportunity to shed light on UNESCO’s work and Sweden’s support through media coverage, social media

campaigns, UNESCO websites and visibility material produced for each activity, including the conventional

press releases, web articles, and banners, but also through the production of videos, radio shows, and

newsletters.

While conflict and political sensitivities in some countries have posed some challenges at times, in addition

to other restraints whether financial, administrative, or technical, the expertise at headquarters and in

the field have managed to realign priorities and actions whenever needed within the context of the

project’s objectives and plan activities strategically to reach the target group. Despite these challenges,

results to date have been very satisfactory, exceeding yearly targets in a number of areas, and receiving

positive feedback from partners and beneficiaries alike.

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II. PROGRESS TOWARDS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF OUTPUTS AND

OUTCOMES

The progresses achieved by the stations is monitored through an annual self-assessment evaluation.

Qualitative and quantitative questionnaires have been sent to each supported radio station, with a total

response rate of 84%. In order to monitor their programming on a regular basis and abide by local

regulations, several stations are using software to record and store every broadcast programmes. This is

the case in Tanzania, for example, where the Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) requires that

all community radio stations record and archive every aired programme.

Expected Result N°1: Local radio stations have provided social service

The quality of broadcast and audience participation have improved overall in every country covered by

the project. Stations have become more interactive, gender-sensitive, determined to produce quality

broadcast focused on issues that matter most to their communities. However, discrepancies exist

between and within countries in terms of progress, due to the diversity of situations experienced by the

stations.

In Rwanda, for instance, the four

community radio stations have good level of

equipment, human resources and facilities.

Izuba Radio and Huguka FM, for example,

were able to set up branches of their main

stations in other cities to be closer to their

audiences and sources in an increased

geographical area. However, in most of the

countries, and especially in rural areas, a

significant number of stations operate in a

humbler way: with insufficient means to

acquire and improve their premises,

modernize their equipment and properly

train and remunerate their collaborators.

Tumbatu FM, in Tanzania, for example,

possesses only a small room with very basic

infrastructure in the district’s council

building and uses it as a studio. They

acquired a piece of land with community contributions, where they hope to build their own building once

they raise enough funds.

Another example comes from Baliti FM, a radio station with basic resources located in Isiolo County,

Kenya, a multi-ethnic region that faces recurrent violent conflicts. The station broadcasts in Swahili and

Borana, providing an inclusive programming that represents the cultural diversity of its community.

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Programmes on social issues inform and educate the audience about different topics, such as: youth

unemployment, entrepreneurship, health, female genital mutilation, violence, agriculture, culture, etc.

Community members share their opinions and participate in talk shows mainly through call-ins and text

messages. Hassan Abdi, 19 years old, is a volunteer who is passionate about the power of radio to promote

peace in his community. He presents a programme on social issues where he interacts with the audience.

According to Mr. Hadan Huka, head of the listener’s group, the station brings the community together by

including all groups and addressing their needs in its programming.

On average, audiences’ interactions with the radio stations specifically on issues of local concern increased

by 46% throughout the countries covered by the project. The integration of ICTs, through the introduction

to free and open software of SMS and calls management (i.e. Frontline SMS and Freedom Fone),

associated with the use of social media, has greatly multiplied and facilitated the opportunities for

listeners’ interactions and audience’s comments on the broadcast programmes.

The production of news and bulletins resulting from investigative journalism on issues of local concern

has progressed as well, with an average increase of 30%, and met the target in every country except DRC

- where the local context made it particularly difficult and risky for journalists to freely investigate, travel

and rely on networks of correspondents. Nevertheless, local radio stations are holding governments and

private companies to account through investigative journalism and through interviews of local leaders

and other stakeholders on affairs impacting the community.

Some stories highlight issues of corruption and nepotism. For example, in Rwanda, Radio Isangano is

continually checking public and private institutions working within its geographic coverage area, in order

to hold them accountable towards their citizens. This is done by reporting on the performance contracts

(locally known as “imihigo”). Each year performance contracts are signed between the president of

Rwanda and local government institutions and ministries, in which the local authorities and civil servants

are held accountable to specific and measurable targets towards the community. The station is keeping

its listeners informed on these targets and investigates if they are not achieved. Their audience gives live

feedback on talk shows through call-ins, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc. Community members are able

to share their views and complaints, ask questions, and follow these contract’s targets through the

stations’ programmes.

Indeed, there was an average increase of 55%, from the previous year, in general communication from

the audiences with the stations through ICTs. The number of talk shows and participatory radio

programmes, due to ICTs, increased 40% on average. The quantity of phone calls, SMS, e-mails or other

ICTs used by local correspondents for radio programmes increased as well, by 44% on average.

The stations are increasingly interviewing more local leaders and local authorities, community members

and/or any other relevant stakeholders to conduct their investigations. The number of contacted

stakeholders, as sources, involved in content production relative to issues of local concern has increased

42% on average. There was an average increase of 34% in the number of broadcast interviews with local

stakeholders addressing local issues. Moreover, reports and news bulletins regarding issues of interest to

the local communities have been increasingly given more importance, as they were 38% higher during

broadcast prime-time hours in 2016.

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Mr. Nasri Manlidi, member of the

listeners’ club of Kwale Ranet FM,

in Kenya, stressed that the station

is serving the community and the

audience is participating more in

the programming, especially

through call-ins. His radio set is

constantly on, entertaining,

educating and informing him and

his family. He highlighted the

importance of the station in

providing relevant information

and alerting the population

during emergency and crisis

situations. He recalled that the

station alerted the audience to be cautious after elephants escaped from a nearby National Reserve and

invaded the community. Journalists and volunteers from this station are producing programmes on local

issues in different formats, with different angles and using diversified sources. Programmes on health, for

example, get information from official data of concerned Ministries on teen pregnancy and school dropout

to inform about family planning. Besides providing information, they advocate for behavior change and

also involve men to support their wives. They go to the field, interview community members, bring experts

to the studio, receive call-ins from audience and produce radio documentaries, interviews, feature stories,

etc – which was not done before project start. Adam Chigamba, volunteer, highlighted that the station

serves the community by informing people about their rights, including isolated groups (e.g. people with

disabilities) in the public debate, and providing access to information in vernacular languages.

Regarding gender-balance and gender-equality targets, the proportion of women voices heard on air as

sources/experts has met the objective and increased by 41% on average. This evolution should be

qualified by the fact that percentages vary greatly among countries and stations according to each local

context. Stations have perceived an increase in the number of all stories that challenged gender-based

stereotypes (37% on average) and in the number of journalists applying fair gender-portrayal and

representation (average increase of 44%), comparing to the previous year.

Aurelie Gabriel (26), assistant chief editor at Radio Kwizera FM in Tanzania, won an award as best radio

journalist in gender reporting at the 2016 Gender and Media Summit, which took place in Windhoek,

Namibia. The summit was co-organized by the Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA), Gender

Links (GL) and the Gender and Media Diversity Centre (GMDC). During this event, media performance is

put under the spotlight and good practice affirmed through the Gender and Media Awards. Radio

Kwizera’s submission was recognized as the radio piece that demonstrated the greater sensitivity to

gender, promoting gender equality. Once again, at the project’s global scale, these impressive progresses

have to take into consideration that the most isolated and traditional communities, in most countries, still

consider such involvement from women in the public life as culturally inappropriate. In such cases,

progress do exist but is improving at a slower rate.

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For example, in Tanzania, Tumbatu FM

reported that women were less confident and

less likely to agree to be interviewed by

journalists. However, despite little resources,

the station broadcast gender-specific

programmes on issues such as gender-based

violence, reproductive health and family

planning. The station is located on an isolated

island of the archipelago of Zanzibar and lacks

access to basic services. Before the brand new

health clinic was built, the community relied

heavily on traditional healers. Community

members highlighted the importance of the

station’s work in raising awareness on health

prevention, especially seeking medical support

during pregnancy. They recognized that this

would contribute to reduce child and mother

mortality rates in the island.

UNESCO also initiated collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO). The ILO introduced

the “Start and Improve Your Own Business” (SIYB) programme in Tanzania. This programme is an

entrepreneurship/small business management training developed to provide countries with low cost and

effective business creation and business management skills. SIYB on Air is a distance-learning form of the

programme carried out through radio broadcast, in order to reach out to more people seeking to improve

business skills.

Another marginalized group specifically targeted by the project is youth. A particular focus is put on the

participation and inclusion of young

members of the communities into

the public debate through increased

recognition of their issues and

greater interaction with the radio

stations. Youth, just like women and

girls, suffer from misrepresentation

in the media. Young people is a

group characterized by their lack of

power, political influence, economic

means and social status. As such,

they are offered little to no voice in

the media. The radio stations under

the project have demonstrated their

commitment in including young

voices from their communities in

their programming. By

implementing the youth radio

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toolkit “Linking Generations through Radio”, the local stations are producing youth-targeted

programming on three levels of action: radio for youth, radio with youth, and radio by youth.

In Kenya, for instance, Baliti FM gives a space to young women to participate actively in its programming.

Nasibo Abduba (24), Halima Rizak (22), Grace Guyatu (21) and Qabale Golicha (23) are young female

volunteers who present different programmes on current issues, local news, youth and jobs. They also

interact live with the audience through call-ins and text message, saying that there is strong

representation among women who participate in the call-ins (around 50 - 60%).

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BEST PRACTICES

Izuba Radio won the Development

Journalism Award in 2016, by the

Rwanda Governing Board and the

United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP), as the best

community radio station in Rwanda. Its

programmes covering local issues

include topics such as health,

agriculture, women empowerment,

advocacy for marginalized groups and

minorities, promotion of local culture,

among others.

Journalists are better able to report on these issues after trainings, using the Internet and other ICTs

(Freedom Fone, Frontline SMS, blogs, Facebook, etc.) to gather and produce news, interact with

audience and include local voices in the programming.

The station and its journalists are using different platforms to communicate with their audience and

provide them with information in different formats. They stream live on Tune In, publish stories on

YouTube, share content on their Facebook page, use Skype for internal communication, gather inputs

from listeners and sources through Frontline SMS and Freedom Fone, and create strategies to reach

their audience through these channels. Discussion programmes investigate corruption, analyze official

figures, interview stakeholders, get feedback from audience, and invite authorities to answer their

questions.

Richard Dani Iraguha, the station’s manager, highlighted that problems from one community may help

others to solve theirs, by getting inspiration on good examples. The programme “Women for

Development”, for example, showcases success stories of local women, broadcasts interviews,

information on how to get loans, financial opportunities and also addresses family issues, culture,

health and other topics targeting their female audience.

The station gives space and visibility for local artists in its programming, also organizing an annual

contest for them. It is partner of the Music Changes Lives Organization (MCLO), supporting the

Rwandan music industry. The station organizes outdoor broadcasting of community debates once a

month. They go to the communities, usually in remote rural areas, and bring local authorities, civil

society organizations’ (CSOs) representatives and other stakeholders to give information, share ideas

and promote discussion around a specific topic of local concern.

Community members are able to give their point of view, ask questions to relevant guests and raise

their voices on the airwaves. These debates are broadcast simultaneously by the other three

community radio stations (Huguka, Isangano and Ishingiro), thus covering the whole country. Besides

the discussions, community members are happy to meet the radio presenters in person who perform

local music in the beginning and moderate the debate. The public is usually surprised to see that the

radio is able to come to their community and appreciate this opportunity to participate.

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Expected Result N°2: Local radio news from an increased geographical range within signal

area

The great majority of radio stations

have increased the geographical

range of their broadcast and content

by relying on trained

correspondents, who are able to

feed in the stations with news,

stories, testimonies and interviews

from community members on issues

of local concern. On average, the

broadcast news fed in by local

correspondents’ networks has

increased by 50% in 2016.

Izuba Radio, in Rwanda, has an

impressive network of 800

correspondents, called “Imboni” (“pupil of eye”, in Kinyarwanda). They cover the seven districts of the

Eastern Province, as well as the neighbouring areas of Burundi and Tanzania. Richard Dani Iraguha, the

station’s manager, says that its programming connects people across borders. One of the most popular

programme explores what is happening in each community, fed by inputs sent in by correspondents.

Titien Mbangukira, the station’s chief editor, explained that correspondents call and leave their audio clips

via Freedom Fone. He makes a selection and verification of their content and broadcasts at least six news

inputs from them per day. The station trains about 200 people per year, having an impact on the media

industry in the country. New staff receive a three-day training at the station’s premises and there are also

one-day trainings on basic journalism skills for correspondents in the communities. These internal

trainings, funded by different sources (EU, UNDP, Search for Common Ground, etc.), enlarge the reach of

the project as trained radio staff are able to share their knowledge with a great amount of people.

In total, the number of correspondents trained by the project in 2016 is 443, of whom 190 are women. In

some stations, the target of women representing at least 30% of the total number of correspondents was

not met. The difficulty to recruit women as correspondents can be explained by different factors. First, it

has been reported that the cultural reluctance and the traditional stereotyped role of women exist in

several communities. Second, the geopolitical context and civil unrest in some of the participating

countries (e.g. Burundi and DRC) can discourage women to present themselves as journalists, travel and

interview their fellow citizens in some regions, which could represent a threat to their safety.

There was, however, an improvement to highlight, as most of them started with very few to no woman

at all in their networks of correspondents. The number of trained female correspondents is, thus,

gradually increasing in all radio stations. While the proportion of increase varies from region to region, so

far women made up for 43% of correspondents who benefitted from trainings in 2016. In 2015 they were

35%.

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Radio Huguka, in Rwanda, established its network of correspondents after the project started. Now they

have 10 correspondents (5 women) from different parts of the country to feed in the station with local

news content. The station also has listeners in the community called “ambassadors”, who provide them

with feedback about programming. Listeners visit the station twice a month and also send feedback

through call-ins, SMS, Facebook and during station’s field visits.

The percentage of broadcast news supplied by local correspondents’ networks has increased by 26%

overall. However, sustaining and developing networks of correspondents can constitute a real challenge

for some stations as they are unable to provide them with financial incentive.

The same observation can be drawn from the data concerning the proportion of broadcast testimonies

and interviews carried out by local correspondents. Radio stations from Burundi have noticed that their

networks of correspondents has increased their ability to send in reports or “vox pops” through

WhatsApp. Thus, the number and the diversity of sources have significantly increased in the country.

Mama FM, in Uganda, introduced a community news hotline phone, which is used by the local

correspondents to feed in the station with daily news. Additionally a WhatsApp group for the

correspondents was created so its members can continue networking and share their stories.

The project has trained 18 local correspondents (10 male and 8 female) of Radio Isangano, in Rwanda. Mr.

Jerome Rwasa, the station’s manager, noticed that, after trainings, correspondents were providing more

content, sending reports by phone, covering new areas and had more access to the communities. Before

training, their lack of recognition as trusted correspondents resulted in a lack of sources. Now, at least

three local stories are being produced and aired weekly.

PORTRAIT OF A CORRESPONDENT

Besides running a beauty salon in Isiolo and helping her family by farming in the countryside, Beth Wanjiru (40) is proud to be a correspondent at Baliti FM, in Kenya. She volunteered for this extra assignment because she wanted to contribute to the station’s coverage on stories that are important to her community, providing the audience with relevant information in local languages (Swahili and Borana). She already reported on local issues related to farming and youth unemployment, sending scripts and audio clips by email and often coming to the station to use its equipment to edit her material. Beth considers that election and conflict-sensitive reporting are especially important to promote peace

in the region. Ibrahim Yaro, the station’s manager, explained that his staff regularly share knowledge

acquired in the trainings with new collaborators and form about 15 volunteers per year, tutoring them

on journalism practices and ethics.

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Expected Result N°3: Sustainability of local radio stations reinforced

All radio stations have

perceived that they have

increased their knowledge on

financial management skills

and accounting through the

implementation and use of

ICTs in their activities. In

Burundi, radio stations have

acquired the knowledge to

operate a billing system

hosted on open source

software, for example.

The great majority of the

stations (83%) have

established a financial plan

and projection of their

financial needs for 2017. As part of sustainability, it is vital for the stations to generate revenues to afford

their operational costs and allow for growth. Despite that financial sustainability is still a concern for the

community media sector in general, the stations under the project have progressively developed creative

ways to diversify their sources of revenue and increase their budgets. Indeed, 94% of the stations

participating in the project have taken initiatives to diversify their sources of income, as a direct

consequence of trainings. Stations have opened broadcast slots for sponsored programmes for NGOs,

monetized on-air announcements, turned to donors, partners and crowdfunding, particularly among the

listeners’ clubs. Some, for example, covered private events such as weddings, dedicated space in their

offices to open a computer training center, or even develop commercial services, such as gaining revenue

from motorbike taxis.

Moreover, in order to further diversify and extend their revenues, many radio stations are developing

partnerships with the help of UNESCO field officers. Such collaborations include: governments and local

authorities, NGOs, other UN agencies, as well as private organizations.

Kwale Ranet FM, in Kenya, is housed in the building of the Ministry of Information, Communication and

Technology. The station receives support from this institution to cover rent, bills and staff salaries. Its

listeners’ club has more than 500 members, meeting once a month to discuss the programming, give

feedback and raise funds (e.g. selling T-shirts). Five members of the listeners’ club, together with radio

staff, participated in a training on marketing and income generation provided by UNESCO. After the

training, they started a crowdfunding campaign to buy and distribute sanitary pads to girls in the

community as part of a programme on health and women’s issues.

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Thanks to the training on marketing techniques and entrepreneurship, local stations are now able to draft

and present viable business plans and search for potential partners. They now possess the skills to

attractively present their potential and capacities to investors and donors.

In Kenya, the radio stations have been able to initiate partnerships with their respective local County

Governments (Busia County, Isiolo County, Nairobi County, Kwale county), NGOs, religious organizations

and educational institutions. The stations provide them with broadcast time for their programmes and

advertisements at a fee. The revenue generated from these services have been used to supplement the

day to day expenses/running costs of the station such as electricity and water bills, internet bundles,

stationery purchase and pay for the transport of volunteers.

Brigitte Uwamariya, Radio Huguka’s director, in Rwanda, said that the baseline assessment on listeners’

habits, conducted during the project’s inception phase, helped the station to better know its audience

and understand their needs. She noted that this assisted the station to present its services to potential

clients, donors and partners. She reported that the workshop on marketing and income generation helped

them develop long-term project proposals, commercial projects and campaigns to approach the

community. As a result, the station received sponsorship from the EU and Save the Children, for example,

to develop their programmes.

Honorathe Iribagiza, Izuba Radio’s accountant, in Rwanda, said that the station is in a good financial

situation as they are able to write quality proposals to potential clients and donors after trainings. They

get revenue from sponsored announcements and programmes due to the station’s popularity and

trustworthiness amongst listeners. The station receives funds from different sources (EU, UNDP, SFCG,

etc.) and is able to invest in equipment and human resources.

Local radio stations are gradually developing their capacities to provide their audiences, and in particular

vulnerable and isolated groups (such as women, girls, youth, rural and indigenous populations), with a

programming that takes into account their interests and needs. Thanks to the tailored programming on

communities’ local concerns, broadcast in vernacular languages has increased by 40%, as has the cultural

diversity of listeners within the area of signal coverage.

In Tanzania, local stations have been able to ease a very tense political context. Re-elections were held in

Zanzibar on 20 March 2016 due to the annulment of polls as a result of vote tampering, which led to a

series of acts of violence among opposition parties. Community members have recognized that local radio

stations, namely Tumbatu and Mtegani FM, contributed to ease the tensions by broadcasting peace

messages and engaging their communities in democratic dialogue, rather than violence.

By involving the communities, the stations are considered not just as broadcasters, but also as social

service providers, thus strengthening their relevance and sustainability.

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III. SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability of the results has been at the forefront of UNESCO’s activities under this project. One of the

most effective approaches followed to ensure sustainability was reinforcing institutional capacities and

local ownership in target countries. UNESCO colleagues on the field and in headquarters pursued

tremendous efforts in the development of partnerships, both with the government and local/national

NGOs, but also with private bodies. In 2016, UNESCO observed an increased engagement from

governmental agencies, reaffirming their confidence in the organization’s valuable role in strengthening

media pluralism, including community radios. Many partnerships were induced with local county

authorities, national media networks, regulatory bodies, and policy makers (please refer to the Annexes

for the full list of partners per country in 2016).

Throughout the implementation of the project, UNESCO, whether at HQ or in the field, collaborated with

local stakeholders to empower and build their capacities, strengthen ongoing initiatives, and achieve

bigger impact and sustainability through increasing their engagement and coordinating advocacy.

Organizations came together for major events and international days (e.g. World Radio Day 2016).

UNESCO also ensured long-term implementation and positive impact of efforts through continuously

striving to implicate local government and public authorities in its initiatives.

Priority has also been given to local experts and trainers, as well as local networks, such as community

radio networks, when implementing capacity-buildings activities and mobilizing stakeholders and

partners. UNESCO’s approach of involving the stations when planning workshops and identifying the

needs and priorities of each is highly appreciated by radio managers since it creates a sense of trust and

responsibility. By bringing local African experts, who can teach in local languages and are more available

for later follow up, trainees were able to assimilate new competencies more easily, in comparison to other

development partner’s approach, when bringing international experts to teach a pre-established training

module in English.

Mentorship has been another method of ensuring sustainability of the activities, where capacity-building

workshops are reinforced with in-house coaching. Mentorship, conducted at the station’s premises, are

more tailored to variant needs and shortcomings, such as, the availability of proper infrastructure,

appropriate equipment, level of community involvement, etc. These activities allow the beneficiaries to

practically apply knowledge acquired during the trainings under the supervision and advice of a trained

mentor. According to the comments and suggestions of the trainees, the mentors and trainers can plan

future trainings by tailoring them to each beneficiary’s needs.

To further enhance ownership on the outcomes and positive impact, as well as assessing the progress

achieved through the project, UNESCO encouraged self-monitoring of the beneficiaries. As such,

questionnaires were developed to assess the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of each Expected

Result and were shared with the local radio stations. After the stations experienced difficulty in adopting

the assessment method in 2015, UNESCO revised and simplified the questionnaire following comments

from field officers during the annual coordination meeting held in September 2016.

Within the project, UNESCO also strengthened the UN Joint Delivering as One framework, through

significant collaborations, such as that between the International Labour Organization and UNESCO office

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in Tanzania on entrepreneurship/small business management trainings for community radios, described

in page 6.

Partnerships with the private sector have also been significant for sustainability. In Africa, they were

crucial to the efficient implementation of activities, notably concerning the acquisition or renewal of

equipment and ICTs. Local technology and digital companies, mobile operators, have donated generators,

computers, software or/and mobile phones to the stations. UNESCO Regional office for Eastern Africa, for

example, created a partnership with DanOffice to donate laptop computers to the stations in Kenya,

Rwanda and Uganda.

Diversifying funding sources has been another approach that UNESCO sought to guarantee the

continuation of activities combined with a long-term vision that allowed various donors to identify the

significance of UNESCO’s work and the impact generated. Therefore, even when the primary funding

terminates the activities have a strong support to continue and inspire follow up actions. As a scale-up of

the Swedish-funded “Empowering Local Radio with ICTs” component, UNESCO Dar es Salaam and the

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) signed a partnership agreement for the

implementation of a project titled “Empowering Local Radio with ICTs for the Promotion of Rural Citizens’

Participation in Democratic Discourse and Development”. The project’s objective is to strengthen the

sustainability and capacities of 20 community radios across Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar (including

the 5 supported by Sweden). The SDC project’s outcomes and outputs are a continuation of this project,

in addition to a special component supporting the Community Media Network of Tanzania (COMNETA).

The project’s duration is 2016-2020, with a total budget of 4 million dollars.

15

IV. VISIBILITY

High consideration was given

to the visibility of Swedish

funding and valuable support

to this project throughout all

activities. This support was

credited in all project

documents, communication

and visibility material,

publications, and on UNESCO

website. A representative

from the Swedish

government was always

invited to major events and

activities organized under the project whether at HQ or in the field. Some examples include the global

celebration of World Radio Day. Information about the activities were published on UNESCO website and

the website on Empowering Local Radio with ICTs. Materials published online and made openly accessible

to the wider public include news features, articles and audio-visual materials among others. UNESCO’s

social media platforms were similarly employed to enhance the project’s visibility. Where possible, the

project and its activities were additionally promoted and featured on the websites of our partner

institutions and publicized through local media.

A communication and outreach strategy was created at the beginning of the project to guarantee that

project results are shared with a large audience. Through identification of target audiences, key messages,

and communication tools, it succeeded to serve as a guideline for UNESCO communication officers in the

field for the past 2 years. In most cases, it was also extended to UNESCO partners in order to unify

communication efforts and focus on its key objectives. Support from a range of stakeholders and donors

can be obtained by displaying well-documented project results, in order to support the current project

and build on previous efforts in order to reach a snowball effect.

Global, regional, and national celebrations of International Days also served as a great visibility

opportunity, mainly World Radio Day and International Women’s Day. Activities and events were widely

covered by international, regional and local media, acknowledging the role of UNESCO and the

contribution of the donor.

UNESCO updated a film produced in the first phase of the project to include the new benefiting countries,

namely Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Custom shaped USB keys were produced featuring an immersive

experience of the project, that is: films created on community radios as well as the project’s first phase

final report. This material has been distributed to the stations and field officers, so they can showcase the

project’s impact to partners and other relevant stakeholders during meetings and events.

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V. CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT

Preliminary results of implementation have identified a number of challenges encountered at its various

stages. Field offices bore the brunt of such challenges, which UNESCO has sought to learn from and

overcome wherever possible. Funding limitations, political sensitivities, difficulties in working with local

counterparts and safety concerns were all identified as challenges to activity implementation in particular

contexts. UNESCO has successfully been able to circumvent and overcome many of these specific

challenges by taking innovative approaches to ensure fruitful and sustainable project implementation

with the highest assurances to both stakeholders and beneficiaries.

The project was able to attain the expected results and to contribute to the overall goal thanks to its

flexibility, broad mandate, and the essential role of ownership by key local stakeholders. However, the

realization of this ownership requires continuous consultations and advocacy, capacity development, and

a participative approach, which is a time-consuming effort (sometimes causing delays in calendar)

nonetheless, worth the investment. The project’s implementation modality is a perfect mix between the

need for having clear, attainable and measurable objectives, and the indispensable flexibility required to

effectively operate and deliver in the fast-changing local environments, especially in the countries in

conflict or transitional periods. Implementation strategies needed to be tailored to the different contexts.

UNESCO’s comparative advantage is being able to relate with all the concerned stakeholders

(governmental, independent public authorities, legislators, CSOs, Media organizations, INGOs etc.).

Major challenges faced throughout the past years, with no exception for 2016, were conflict and political

sensitives in some countries. However, UNESCO managed to overcome them and strategically achieve

project objectives. Rwanda has had its share of political challenges with upcoming elections in 2017, as

the current president is running for a third term. The election period is likely to affect the operation of the

media, with continued self-censorship, as defamation and press offences are still punishable by criminal

libel law. However, the project still allowed for tangible effect. In 2016, the change from statuary

regulation to self-regulation was a milestone for the media sector in Rwanda but further action is needed

to raise awareness on the importance of self-regulation.

In the DRC, the security situation in the East of the country is precarious – precisely in the territories of

Beni (Radio Muungano) and Bunia (Radio Canal Révélation), with scenes of repeated massacres against

the population, and in the territory of Nyamilima (Radio Dorika FM), exposed to kidnapping of United

Nations agents and humanitarians. Consequently, UNESCO grouped these three stations in Goma for

several days to participate in the trainings.

The main challenge encountered in Burundi is a direct consequence of the political instability. It has

become difficult to find trainers or facilitators as most of them have fled the country and those from

neighbouring countries have been reluctant to travel to Burundi. As part of the strategy to address this

issue, UNESCO decided to emphasize the production of training modules for most of the activities. As of

now, seven training modules are available. In the year to come, existing modules will be updated based

on feedbacks from radio stations and contributions of new facilitators. Additionally, change of managers

in two radio stations (RIU and CCIB FM+) have affected the project implementation in these stations. One

of the solutions UNESCO provided was reinforced mentoring and a shared space on Google Drive

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accessible to all radio stations. The space contains key documents of the projects as well as activities

reports.

Regarding structural challenges hampering the projects’ implementation, local radio stations face multiple

constraints despite their popularity and the important role they play as information providers to the

majority of the rural population. The main challenges have been identified as the lack of infrastructure

and equipment, low level of professional training and capacity, and restricted means to investigate and

produce in-depth and quality content. The working conditions and capacities of the radio stations

participating in the project are strongly heterogeneous; therefore, a generic approach to support and

expectations for homogeneous progress of all stations is unrealistic. Through the mapping of their

respective capacities, it has been possible to assess the needs and weaknesses in order to design

customized interventions suited for their own levels of ability and operations.

For example, the lack of equipment and connectivity has, in some cases, impeded the implementation

and use of ICTs for some radios. To solve this issue, colleagues in Field Offices have sought out local

partnerships with ICTs and energy related companies for donations of equipment/generators (please refer

to the Annexes for the full list of equipment donated). The limitations to generate sufficient revenue

continue to threaten the stations’ ability to offer substantial financial incentives to their staff and network

of correspondents. Following trainings on entrepreneurship and incomegeneration activities, radio

stations have diversified their sources of income; sometimes with very creative initiatives (please refer to

ER 3 for specific examples).

As already mentioned in the past, the turnover of trained staff is a continuous challenge to overcome

throughout the implementation of the project, as the knowledge transmitted through trainings is

sometimes poorly handed over to new radio workers. However, some radio practitioners who have

benefitted from UNESCO’s capacity-building trainings have been employed by mainstream media. A

trainee from Tanzania, for example, received a scholarship from the BBC to pursue her studies and some

community radio practitioners have expanded their personal businesses using the knowledge gained

through the entrepreneurship and income-generation training. These success stories suggest that, in

addition to increasing the sustainability of the radio stations, the capacity-building trainings also widen

practitioners’ employment opportunities within the media market. UNESCO is in the process of assessing

the potential efficiency and resources needed for the creation of a self-training tool, either as an online

hub of resources covering all dimensions of community radio (from infrastructure and equipment set-up

to thematic content training) and/or as a non-digital tool.

Another method followed by UNESCO for cost effectiveness, was organizing joint activities and trainings

covering several topics at the same time. By bringing together local radio stations from each country and

using this opportunity to include more than one training programme, UNESCO not only cut down on costs

but allowed practitioners from different stations to meet and enhance peer-learning. Complementarily,

capacity building through on-site mentorship has also shown to be an effective learning method, as it

allows mentors to identify shortfalls within each visited radio station.

Despite all the challenges, the project has proved to be much needed and has achieved tremendous

success thus far. A growing demand from new partners and radio stations – especially in West Africa,

proves the need for further support, which would allow UNESCO to extend the benefits and lessons learnt

to more countries and even to other world regions.

18

The power of radio, through its proximity to the population and its ease of access, provide a unique

opportunity to reach the largest number of people in the shortest possible time, independently of any

geographical, social or economic barriers. Such advantage can additionally be of critical assistance to

effectively disseminate prevention messages during disasters and crises. This project could be adapted to

strengthen radio stations capacities to address current and pressing issues such as climate change,

refugee crisis and other emergencies in different parts of the world.

Finally, gender parity in radio is still far to be achieved. Even if it were achieved in terms of radio station

staffing, the challenge would remain of combatting biased reporting in gender-related issues and breaking

stereotypes. The donor should consider deepened action in this area.

Loliondo FM, one of the 5 Swedish-supported radio stations in Tanzania, has had continuous managerial

and operational issues since its inception in 2012. Although the station’s practitioners benefited from

trainings throughout the year, the radio has been off and on air due to frequent technical fault of

transmitter despite the dispatch of a technician by UNESCO. In addition, the station’s manager has had

political disputes with local authorities but limited information regarding the reasons of these conflicts

has been availed to UNESCO yet. It is uncertain whether UNESCO will continue to support the station in

the framework of the Swedish project. The radio’s staff has moreover not submitted the required

qualitative and quantitative forms.

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VI. SYNERGIES

A number of activities and actions implemented reflected the synergies between the two components of

this project: “Promoting Democracy and Freedom of Expression” and “Empowering Local Radio with ICTs”.

Bringing together expertise from both sections; Freedom of Expression, and Media Development and

Society, and aligned with their complementing priorities, UNESCO was successful in spreading the impact

of the project across countries and regions covered by the overall project, even when they weren’t directly

targeted by one section or the other.

The commemorations of World Radio Day and World Press Freedom Day 2016 both served as a platform

for discussion between Community Media practitioners and the broad spectrum of stakeholders including

Government representatives, Media Organizations, Legal practitioners, Civil Society Organizations and

Development partners and UN agencies.

On 13 February, as part of World Radio Day celebration, a seminar was held in Rabat (a target country for

the Freedom of Expression section), bringing together representatives and members of Web radio, to

present a study on “Web Radios in Morocco”. The seminar, which was attended by the Secretary General

of the Ministry of Communication and the Director-General of the Audio Visual regulator HACA, was an

occasion to get the government’s backing for the study, which highlighted the absence of FM-licensed

community radios in Morocco. Only few months later, the ministry of communication issued new

measures to support web radios, while the HACA granted the first ever FM temporary license to a CSO-

run Climate Radio in Marrakech on the occasion of the 22nd Conference of Parties at the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change in Marrakech (COP22).

Climate Radio operated during COP22, both as a press agency serving community radio stations around

the world and as a local associative FM station. Eighteen young journalists from the Middle East and Africa

produced news content in Arabic, Amazigh, English and French. The radio had more than 150 guests and

broadcasted live for more than 90 hours, including a 7-hour non-stop live coverage of the “Walk for

Climate”. All productions were streamed online on climateradio.net and shared in Creative Commons (CC-

BY-NC) for rebroadcasting by community stations in at least 18 other countries including Mali, Jordan,

Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Canada, United States, France and Mexico. All the actions above were possible

thanks to synergies between the Culture and the Communication and Information Sectors, (as radio

stations involved in the “Empowering Local Radio with ICTs” participated as well) and co-financing by

Sweden and NET-MED Youth projects.

Another collaboration between both sections in the Communication and information sector was marked

in Tunisia, where the capacities of community radio stations were strengthened through on-the-job

training on specific issues mainly safety and gender sensitive reporting, while the regulator HAICA was

assisted in the creation of a support fund to community broadcasting (also in synergy with an IPDC

project).

Reinforcing synergies with culture sector, including efforts aiming at enhancing artistic freedom and the

safety of cultural professionals, and supporting a participatory monitoring and reporting of the

implementation of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural

Expressions, continued during this period. A training was provided in Dakar to 20 journalists from online

and print press, radio, and television specialized in reporting on cultural issues from different regions in

20

Senegal on UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators. The 2005 Convention on the Protection and

Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions allocates an important place to the role of media.

Whether it be through highlighting the importance of media as essential advocates of the Convention, or

the central role given to freedom of expression, media diversity, and media development in the

elaboration of the Convention’s Quadrennial Report, media professionals remain essential stakeholders

in ensuring participatory monitoring and reporting of the implementation of this international standard

setting instrument. The training underlined synergies between capacity building initiatives on the

Convention, Senegal’s current process to elaborate their quadrennial report, and media professionals.

Local radio stations also promote the diversity of cultural expressions by giving space and visibility to local

artists in their programming. Izuba Radio, in Rwanda, for example, organizes an annual contest for them,

as partner of the Music Changes Lives Organization (MCLO), supporting the Rwandan music industry.

The Convention calls upon its Parties to introduce policies and measures to ensure domestic, independent

cultural industries (that includes media), support for the establishment of public and private institutions,

artists and cultural professionals to develop and promote the free exchange and circulation of ideas and

measures aimed at enhancing diversity of the media, including through public service broadcasting.