Green Radio committed to green earth

SK Richard hosting a programme of Green Radio of FM radio channel Radio Today. The photo was taken recently.Photo: STAR

Since 2010, HSBC-The Daily Star Climate Awards have been recognising individuals and organisations actively working towards preserving the environment.
This year's awards will be given on December 14 at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the capital.
Last year the organisers awarded one government and four private organisations for their pioneering role in addressing climate change and environmental degradation. Of the four, Green Radio, a programme of Radio Today, a popular FM radio channel, won the Climate Champion in Knowledge Management award for its contribution to research, exploration and raising awareness.
Green Radio began its journey in 2009 with a “commitment to green earth”. Rafiqul Haque, managing director of Radio Today, first envisaged the project in order to generate awareness among its audience on various environment-related issues.
The show has been on air every day from 7:15am to 8:00am since April 2009.
“We highlight all national and international environmental concerns, including global warming, climate change, natural disasters, depletion of natural resources and urbanisation,” says Nusrat Islam Khan, project officer and chief researcher of the programme.
“In addition to discussions on these topics, we also incorporate success stories, interviews and research findings on the environment in our programme as well as highlighting different events, initiatives and campaigns undertaken by individuals or organisations,” she adds.
Green Radio also has a segment called Green Hour, which gives listeners daily national and international news updates on the environment.
The team maintains contacts with a wide range of stakeholders, from affected people at the grassroots level to policymakers at the national level, from researchers and academics to local administration, for assistance in producing the show.
It addresses each issue in a holistic manner through exploring its different facets by using case studies, research and interviews.
Nusrat says that initially the show's primary target audience was the elderly population. But recent polls suggest another fact.
“It is very interesting to find that a major section of our main audience comprise farmers, who wake up in the morning to listen to the radio on their mobiles as they work,” she says, adding that students too listen to it on their way to class.
The show, hosted by SK Richard, is run by a promising young team comprising Nusrat, Matish Hasan, Sanjay Kamal and Sakib Swapnil.
Md Moniruzzaman Khan, general manager of Radio Today, says they included young minds in the project to push the boundaries and bring new and creative ideas to the table.
The team says one challenge they faced is that people at grassroots level expect them to intervene and change the status quo. “Our main objective is to raise awareness as a media. We do not have the resources to carry out large scale programmatic interventions,” says Nusrat.
Green Radio hopes to broadcast its programme on multiple platforms in the near future. The team is working to develop a web page with a view to sharing its work with a broader audience.