FM radio stations team up for peace
ISLAMABAD: In an important development in Pakistan’s expansive media landscape, over 50 FM radio stations Sunday established a formal community of peace on air, pledging to use the airwaves to promote peace, development and empower social communities.
The establishment of “Radio Partnership for Peace” was announced during a summit of FM radio stations, arranged here by Intermedia.
In the first phase, the forum would include 60 FM radio stations and they would be later joined by all the 130 FM stations currently on air in Pakistan.
The national summit of FM radio stations in Pakistan included independent radio stations, government-run FM stations, university campus stations and other community channels, such as the FM station run by the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP).
Stations from across the country were represented at the gathering, including those from Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
In a joint declaration adopted at the summit, representatives from the radio stations acknowledged their key role in development by promoting peace in the local communities.
The stations supported the initiative of a collective effort to raise the profile of FM radio sector in Pakistan as the people’s medium, while assuring to promote empowerment of communities by being a voice of peace, education and development.
The summit deliberated over positive role of FM radio in community service in recent years and discussed ways to strengthen this role and raise the profile nationally and internationally of this still-largely undocumented positive phenomenon.
The summit also formally launched the project “Radio For Peace Building”. Under the project, among other things, a web portal would be established to showcase the richness and diversity of the FM radio sector to serve as a platform for sharing success stories, various radio programmes, ideas and developments in the sector.
The project would also include promoting “Radio Partnership of Peace” to become a united voice of peace and development in local communities across the country through training, coaching and technical assistance for the members of the new alliance of FM radio stations.
Representatives from these radio stations present at the summit signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which, acceding to the demand and support of the summit, Intermedia and Uks would offer a range of services, facilitation, training and technical assistance to all current and future members of the “Radio Partnership For Peace” to improve their outreach to local communities and beyond.
Source: Dawn
Date:6/21/2010
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