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Background
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Radio reaches many demographics, including the poor, the illiterate, and remote populations. This accessibility of radio makes it a powerful medium to encourage opinion and information sharing. Moreover, radio has clear advantages over television and print media for providing public alerts, especially during natural calamities, violence etc. Community radio emphasizes ownership by the local community in decision-making and program output. In Bihar and Jharkand, community radio programs have been successful in increasing citizen participation in local governance and in combating issues such as corruption, deforestation, and alcoholism. Similarly, SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), a benchmark women’s trade union based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, plans to start a radio program that reaches workers in the informal economy, including its Gujarat membership of approximately 500,000 women. The informal economy is comprised of employment without social security, fixed employer-employee relationships, and worker benefits.
Since 1972, SEWA has been doing innovative work to organize poor, self-employed women working in the informal economy. A pioneer in the field, SEWA recognizes that a holistic approach is necessary when working with women to fight poverty and empower themselves. Over the years, SEWA has found that communication plays a vital role in the lives and struggles of poor women. Furthermore, when women have control over the medium, they can voice their concerns and struggles firsthand. For example, at SEWA, women have formed their own video cooperative. Ela Bhatt, the founder of SEWA, commented: “ Video is an authentic, powerful and honest mass communication media which should be in the hands of common people in a country like ours.” Similarly, SEWA believes that women could also access radio as a tool for organization, education and entertainment.
SEWA currently uses print and visual media to spread messages to the community at large. Communications, along with training, literacy, and research, are centralized within SEWA at SEWA Academy. SEWA Academy produces a biweekly newsletter, a news feature service, a magazine for adolescent girls, and self-directed video productions to highlight stories and important issues for the SEWA community and supporters.
SEWA has observed that many members avidly listen to the radio while they work, be it bidi rolling, incense stick making, stitching or weaving. As a result, SEWA Academy recently assembled an informal team of eight members with creative talents to develop pilot programs in radio broadcasting. The members come from diverse units within SEWA such as research, literacy, and social services, and have no formal background in radio programming. The team has produced one demo CD to date and is currently in the process of assessing and documenting current media habits of SEWA members and informal sector workers through surveys and interviews.
With the support of Indicorps and a fellow, SEWA Academy is eager to pilot a high quality radio program for its members, evaluate the impact of the pilot program, and in the long run, launch a studio unit run by women members for the membership at large. SEWA Academy anticipates that the radio program will reach a large number of people in both rural and urban areas and will serve multiple purposes. The main goals are to disseminate information and training, create public awareness, mobilize people to action, and provide entertainment.
Top The Project
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As a 2005-2006 Indicorps Fellow, you will assist SEWA Academy in creating a vibrant radio program to promote issues targeted at SEWA members and other workers in the informal economy. You will be active in all aspects of the production; however some points of focus include building the capacity of the existing radio team, developing broadcast materials to pitch to various radio stations and donors, assessing current models and creating a viability plan on how to establish a community radio station.
Initially, you will need to get acquainted with the various facets of SEWA and its diverse target groups by reviewing SEWA literature, meeting with SEWA organizers and leaders, and conducting numerous visits to SEWA members’ homes and workplaces. You should also take time to understand the systemic environment and challenges associated with radio production and broadcasting in India . You should research other successful community radio programs in India such as VOICE and Madhyam to learn about their operating and financial models in a non-profit setting, and determine their applicability for SEWA. Simultaneously, you will need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the radio team. After getting acclimated, you will focus on helping the radio team define a vision for the program, understand his/her role in the project, and coordinate various activities including production of a radio program. As a facilitator, you will also need to help create an action plan, define the timetable of events, and follow-up with strategies. You may also have to encourage the radio team to observe deadlines and to document their results.
Together with the radio team, you will structure content material solicited from other SEWA members. While the content (songs, interviews, news briefs etc.) will be determined by the members themselves, you will assist them in planning and preparing any pertinent materials such as scripts and demo tapes. All materials should be beta-tested on a focus group of SEWA members before being finalized. The process should be wholly participatory to ensure that the broadcasts meet the needs of the target audience before the idea is pitched to potential stations and donors. You will also provide technical training and/or identify qualified trainers to train the radio team in various functions of radio programming, ranging from basic use of computer equipment to editing, voice and dialogue training. This will enable the team to take charge of a radio unit, engage in decision-making, and set priorities and standards based on their own needs. SEWA Academy strongly believes in capacity building, sustainability, and self reliance. Thus, it will be imperative that you actively engage SEWA’s team in all aspects of your work, as the radio team will have to sustain the program at the end of the fellowship year. In addition to regular documentation, it will be important for you to analyze and present the financial and technical viability of establishing and running a community radio unit. As funding may be a challenge, you should be flexible, creative, and ready to work with the resources available.
This project offers an exciting opportunity to help promote radio as a medium of communication amongst women from the informal sector, most of whom have no formal schooling or familiarity with basic technology. Ideally, the fellow will have experience in mass communication and/or technical aspects of radio programming. Experience designing, managing and marketing innovative education or community programs for radio and other digital media is an asset. The project will require a great deal of self-initiative and patience to navigate diverse stakeholders and mobilize resources with minimal supervision. High energy and sensitivity in working with women are important. Working knowledge of Hindi or Gujarati is required.
Top Living
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Indicorps Rating : Moderate
Living: Most likely the fellow will stay with a host family or in a hostel in Ahmedabad, Gujarat . Food will be provided. Ahmedabad is a major metropolis, with access to major banks and other necessary purchase items. The SEWA Academy office has phone, fax and internet services. Local modes of transportation such as public buses and autorickshaws are easily available to and from the SEWA office. Some travel within Gujarat may be required.
TopSpecial Restrictions
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Working knowledge of Hindi or Gujarati required.
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