UNITED NATIONS Radio Broadcast

UNITED NATIONS

RADIO BROADCAST NETWORK

my experience since 2002

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UNIMIS RADIO
United Nations Mission of SUDAN

In the SUDAN. United Nations, my Technical assessment was done in February 2005.

Radio Miraya/Mirror in Sudan Goes on AirThe United Nations’ Radio in Sudan, Miraya/Mirror FM, started to broadcast on Friday June 30, 2006 at noon in Juba, in the south of the country. The programme schedule is mainly made up of news bulletins but it also broadcasts debates and public service bulletins. It will eventually add music to its programming.Radio Miraya aims to significantly contribute to the peace and reconstruction process by providing complete, non-biased, concise and factual information to the Sudanese population. It will cover the peace process, national events, and news relating to international organizations operating in Sudan, particularly those of the United Nations. A central focus will be the lives of ordinary citizens in Sudan. The National Unity Government granted authority for Miraya/Mirror FM to broadcast in the south of the country. Negotiations to obtain similar authorization to broadcast in the north continue. The agreement between the Sudanese Government and the United Nations foresees the creation of national broadcast rights so that Miraya/Mirror FM may reach the entire Sudanese population.

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MONUC

United Nations Mission of CONGO DEMOCRATIC

My first and big United Nations (MONUC, Mission de l’Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo)
Broadcast network as Technical Director of Radio Okapi. Start February 2002.

www.radiookapi.net

www.monuc.org

www.hirondelle.org

Radio Okapi is...
It is the largest radio project that the United Nations and the Fondation Hirondelle have ever conducted.
It is a radio operation enabling the people of the Congo to communicate with their compatriots.
It is a radio intended to work hand-in-hand with the peace and electoral process.
It is a network of radio stations designed to cover this immense country of 2,345,000 square kilometres, providing services for approximately 56,000,000 inhabitants.
The network centre is in the capital Kinshasa. There are eight regional studios.
The network will be served by satellite, shortwave and FM transmitters and by the Internet (RadioOkapi.net)
It is a service aimed at a population suffering from years of military conflict and economic stagnation resulting in 900,000 refugees, 2,400,000 displaced people, three million people relying on daily food programs, 300,000 people being treated for malnutrition and a school attendance rate that tumbled to 43% in 1999 from 70% in 1993.
Programs will contain scrupulous, non-partisan, credible information broadcast throughout the country.
The broadcast languages will be in French , Lingala, Swahili, Chiluba, other local languages and English.
Programs will be devoted to themes relating to health, education, human rights, culture and music.
The 2003' budget was covered by four donors (UK, Switzerland, USA and The Netherlands)
The operation is run by around 100 journalists, presenters and staff, the majority of whom will be Congolese.
The project involves close co-operation between the United Nations and the Hirondelle Foundation with the aim of making a lasting contribution to peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It also involves co-operation with the existing media in the DRC, mainly with other radios in the fields of production and training.
The project is a network of stations designed to continue into the post-MONUC phase.

Programmes
Radio Okapi will offer programmes which include news bulletins, magazines and music to everybody in the DRC, whether they are the parties to the conflict or the international community. All broadcasts will fall under the authority of the MONUC, the United Nations Observer Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Radio Okapi will broadcast mainly those programmes prepared under the supervision of the Hirondelle Foundation. Apart from news, these broadcasts will focus on such topics as humanitarian aid with the main goal being the promotion of a peaceful solution to the conflict in the DRC. The programmes produced by Radio Okapi will be distributed free of charge to local radios under an agreement specifying the terms and conditions of their use and their rebroadcast. Radio Okapi will pay particular attention to the situation of the victims of the violence and war, refugees, displaced persons and those who are destitute and especially vulnerable. In its information and magazine programmes, Radio Okapi will provide specific information on the activities of the United Nations and its specialised agencies, as well as about the MONUC mission, its priorities, the problems it is facing and the peace process. Radio Okapi will give close coverage to the electoral process in the DRC. Radio Okapi will open its programme schedule to other international and humanitarian organisations active in the DRC and in neighbouring regions and will inform its audience about their activities. The programme of Radio Okapi will devote a special place to the human rights issue, to the search for peace and to initiatives in favour of development and the maintenance of peace. The programmes will be produced and broadcast in French, Lingala, Swahili, Chiluba also in other local languages as well as English for members of the international community. Radio Okapi will provide local, regional and international news. It will produce magazines and interviews done on the spot. These programmes, produced according to internationally-recognised journalistic standards and within the framework of a radio charter, will fall under the general authority of the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in the DRC.
Since Feb. 2002 to July 2006 Radio Okapi network it is:
* 52 FM transmitters around DRC, audio signal from Kinshasa studios.
* 4 Short waves Transmitters (3x 10 Kw and 1x 25 Kw).
* Streaming on “live” 24h/7 on the Web. www/radiookapi.net
* On Satellite DSTV Multichoice, Eutelsat W4, channel 68.

What is an Okapi ?

WHY OKAPI ?
The OKAPI is a peaceful, four-legged mammal that lives mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is a protected species. It has no known enemies. People of the DRC seem to like the okapi, which has lent its name to various Congolese businesses. But apparently no political or military force has tried to appropriate the okapi's name. It is for all these reasons that we have decided to call our radio station after this well-loved animal.
Related article about radio Okapi on DXing.infoOriginally from the World DX Club, published
on DXing.info on April 12, 2003).
by Richard A. D'Angelo
http://www.dxing.info/profiles/congo_okapi.dx