WORLD RADIO: FGN has initiated necessary reforms in establishing community radio stations- Idris
Oru Leonard
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris has disclosed that owing to radio’s wide-reaching information dissemination, “the government has initiated necessary reforms in the process of establishing community radio stations.”
Mohammed Idris stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday in commemoration of World Radio Day.
The Minister remarked that radio plays a “vital role in shaping public opinion and promoting cultural unity in our diverse nation,” adding that it also provides a “platform for people of all backgrounds to speak out, be represented, and be heard, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation.”
He said while Nigeria has 89 licensed community radio stations, the minister stressed that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is ready to provide a more conducive environment for other radio stations to emerge, and at the same time, strengthen the already-established ones.
The statement read, “Today, I join the global radio audience to celebrate the 2024 World Radio Day as proclaimed and adopted as an International Day by member states of UNESCO.
“The theme for 2024 is ‘Radio: A Century of Informing, Entertaining and Educating.’ This theme reflects the remarkable achievement of radio as a means of communication and information for over 100 years, despite the advent of social media. It also highlights the promise of a dynamic future for radio as a platform that has stood the test of time.”
World Radio Day 2024: Date, history, significance and theme
World Radio Day 2024: Here’s all you need to know about the date, history, significance and theme this year of World Radio Day
Radio, a low-cost medium specifically suited to reaching remote communities and vulnerable people, has offered a platform to intervene in the public debate for over a century now and irrespective of people’s educational level, it continues to play a crucial role in emergency communication and disaster relief. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), radio has crossed the 100-year milestone hence, it is a significant occasion to commemorate the medium’s extensive virtues and continuing potency as it faces challenges to its audience and revenue numbers from digital platforms, social media,
digital and generational divides, censorship, consolidations and economic hardships.
About World Radio Day 2024: World Radio Day is marked annually on February 13, 2024.
History:
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It is generally believed that the first radio transmission was made by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 and radio broadcasting of music and talk that was aimed towards a wider audience came into existence, albeit experimentally, sometimes around 1905-1906.
The radio came into existence commercially in the early 1920s. Radio stations came into existence almost three decades later and the radio and broadcasting system became a common commodity around the world by the 1950s.
Almost 60 years later, in 2011, Member States of UNESCO proclaimed February 13 as being World Radio Day. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 as an International event.
One of the most widely consumed medium at the global level, the UN says the radio has the ability to “shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard.”
Following a proposal from Spain, UNESCO’s Executive Board recommended to the General Conference the proclamation of World Radio Day, based on a consultation process carried out by UNESCO in 2011. Subsequently, the then Director-General of UNESCO proposed the formation of United Nations Radio on February 13, 1946 and subsequently at its 36th session, UNESCO proclaimed February 13 as World Radio Day.
The UN General Assembly formally endorsed UNESCO’s proclamation of World Radio Day on January 14, 2013. During its 67th session, the UN adopted a resolution proclaiming February 13 as World Radio Day.
Significance:
According to the United Nations, the objective of World Radio Day is to raise greater awareness among the public and media regarding the importance of radio.
The day also aims to encourage radio stations to provide access to information through their medium and enhance networking and international cooperation among broadcasters.
