Community radio can help reduce poverty, promote gender equality
Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad yesterday said community radio can play a significant role in turning Bangladesh into a middle-income country through contributing to cutting poverty, promoting primary education, promoting gender equality and reducing mortality rate.
“The government is pledge-bound to ensure free flow of information and freedom of the press. Media is now enjoying full freedom and can help make middle- income country by contributing to cutting rural poverty, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing international partnership for development.”
The minister said this at the inaugural ceremony of a six-day workshop on community radio for journalists at United News of Bangladesh (UNB) auditorium in the city.
Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Singapore has organised the workshop in cooperation with UNB, National Institute of Mass Communication (NIMCO), Tambuli Foundation, Philippines and Unesco.
UNB Chairman Amanullah Khan presided over the programme while NIMCO Director General Makbul Ahmed, Founder of Tambuli Community Radio-Philippines Lucio N Tabing and Head of Research of AMIC Dr Kalinga Seneviratne also spoke.
Terming the community radio a powerful tool to cut rural poverty, the minister said it would be able to reach the marginal people with diverse information, adding that it will also help empower rural women.
Azad noted that the government has enacted 'Right to Information Act-2008', which would ensure transparency and accountability in governance.
Moreover, with a view to building an information- as well as knowledge-based society, the government also passed the National ICT Policy 2009 in July 2009.
The UNB chairman stressed the need for internet-based community radio to contribute to making a digital Bangladesh.
Radio represents cost-effective and user-friendly media to reach out poor and marginalised people, said Amanullah Khan, also AMIC representative in Bangladesh.
Makbul said poor people of remote areas, where the touch of development is hard to reach, would be able to introduce themselves with the people of the world through community radios.
Locio said little information and communication facilities could bring a bigger change in the rural community.
Terming internet a very useful apparatus, he said it would act as a window for the common people to know the world.
He lauded the community radio movement in Bangladesh and said the Philippines has already set up 50 community radios and the idea could be shared with Bangladesh.
Dr Kalinga and Lucio will conduct the workshops as facilitators.
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