Radio is a powerful medium for many reasons - it is handy, portable and inexpensive. It reaches even the remote locations in India and allows for regional language editions. The Community Radio (CR) policy of November 2006 allows Indian organizations to set up CR broadcasting stations catering specifically to local populations. Since the local community constitutes the target audience in these stations, understanding and engaging the listener community becomes an important aspect of their competitive strategy.

The proposed project LISTAENR seeks to tap the potential of an integrated web and mobile-based application to enable two-way communication between any CR station and its audience.

CR stations can subscribe to the LISTAENR service through a user-friendly web interface. They can use this interface to enter audience details, message details and manage user response logs. When a station wishes to announce a new program, award, competition, service, scheme, opportunity or reminder, requisite information is fed into the system. The message is then broadcasted via integrated SMS to the target audience.

Conversely, listeners can respond to a radio program, ask a query or place a request through a mobile SMS, with appropriate tagging. These messages are automatically integrated into the system, and a short summary with response analytics is sent to the CR station. If required, CR stations can access the raw data online for further understanding of user responses.

The project will use a basic, cost-effective and scalable mobile-server connection (independent of SMS providers) for sending the messages.

LISTAENR can help address important questions of promotion and outreach, revenue generation and sustainability, and participatory radio content production. It can supplement and enhance instruments like telephones, letters, or phone-in facilities to sustain close linkages with the local people and their issues of concern.

In addition:

OneWorld South Asia is the south Asian centre of the International OneWorld network, that aims to leverage the democratic power of the internet and ICT tools for sustainable development and human rights.Some of our initiatives in this area are listed below:

Community Radio and SMS

Participation of audience in radio is an important component of community broadcasting. Realising this, an SMS management system has been created; this is utilised during our weekly broadcasts to receive feedback regarding our programmes. Similarly, the system is used to send alerts to subscribers, informing and reminding about upcoming programmes. This has improved listenership, helped us keep track of listener responses, suggestions and act upon them in an effective way.

Community Radio

Ek Duniya Ek Awaaz is a half hour weekly series broadcasting the voices from the communities in Delhi through the public FM channel (AIR FM Rainbow) since 2005, over 170 episode on various issues addressing developmental issues and MDGs has been broadcast.

EK duniya anEK awaaz (One World, Many Voices) – www.edaa.in is a recent initiative which is an online audio content exchange bank and archive for Community broadcasters across South Asia allowing broadcasters to share audio content for community radio.

OneWorld South Asia has been constantly engaged in capacity building of grassroots people in radio production, and providing them a platform to voice their concerns.

Integrated Knowledge System on Climate Change Adaptation

Also in progress is an integrated knowledge system, assimilating multimedia content on challenges, innovations & practices relating to climate change adaptation with focus on poverty and development.

Locations