From: bruceg%sfu.ca@UMCVMB.missouri.edu (Bruce Girard)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
Subject: Community Radio in Namibia
Date: 16 Apr 92 21:55:14 GMT
Article-I.D.: mont.1992Apr16.215514.15629
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Organization: University of Missouri
Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Resent-From: "Rich Winkel" <MATHRICH@UMCVMB.missouri.edu>



COMMUNITY RADIO INITIATIVES

There are currently two major community radio initiatives
underway in Namibia: the Katutura Community Radio Project (KCR)
and another in the northeastern (Kavango) region piloted by
Canamco, a consortium of Canadian non-governmental organisations
of which Oxfam-Canada is the lead agency.

KCR: This is the more advanced of the two projects. Katutura is
what was once known as one of the major "black townships" just
outside of Windhoek, Namibia's  capital city. Comparable to South
African equivalents such as Soweto, Katutura  is over 90%
residential and has very poor services, including those for
communications.

There are 5 organizations directly involved in this initiative:
Bricks Community Projects, Council of Churches in Namibia,
Namibia National Students Organisation, National Union of
Namibian Workers, and the Namibian Community Cooperative
Alliance. The founding members of KCR have outlined a draft
constitution which explains membership and organization of the
future station. Funds are to be "allocated by means of shares,
subscriptions, voluntary contributions, levies, do nations and
interest on any investment of the KCR". There is a limit on the
number of shares any member may hold.

The start-up cost for the station is presently being offered by
UNESCO, which has an office in Windhoek. Some NBC employees have
also been involved in discuss ions around the founding of the
station in a consultative role, and in terms of  looking at
future linkages with the corporation (for training, equiptment
shar ing, etc.). Again, while people are wary of both
international donor and government involvement, the economic
condition of Namibia and the difficulty of acces sing equipment
and training means that if community radio is to exist, it will
have to depend to some extent on external assistance.


Kavango: This is the northeastern region of Namibia, boardering
Angola to the north and Botswana to the east. It is the second
largest region in the country in terms of population. During the
struggle for independence, Kavango provided the main base for
SWAPO support, leading it to be declared a war zone by the
colonial regime.

Canamco, which is operated locally by Namibians, has several
projects in Kavango. They are firmly linked with many local
organizations. Some of these include  a sewing co-op, a wood
carving co-op, an agricultural co-op, a general workers  union, a
domestic worker's union, the local branch of the Namibia National
Students Organisation, etc.

This week (April 13-14), Canamco has organized a workshop to
introduce the idea  of participatory community radio to these
organizations. If it is found that people are interested in and
support the idea of starting a station, further steps will be
taken towards its planning. The apartheid colonial legacy of
Namibia  has meant that people are presently still wary and
suspicious of radio: their  only experience with it is as a tool
of control, and never in the past have they actually been
encouraged to have a voice. However, in the Namibian spirit of
`reconcilliation', initial feedback for the idea has been very
positive.


SUMMARY

The end of a general statement put out for the Foundation of the
Katutura Community Radio reads,

     The Constituting General Meeting, as gathered here today,
     calls upon its members and WORLDWIDE FRATERNITY OF COMMUNITY
     RADIO SUPPORTERS to strengthen  KCR by prayer and
     assistance."

The two types of information which have been specifically
requested by people involved in the Nambian community radio
movement are:

1) Where to find affordable, appropriate technology to equip the
stations (both inside and outside of Africa); and

2) Examples of the constitutions of other community stations,
specifically station management structure and organization.

Any other information such as program guides, training manuals,
programming networks, etc. would, no doubt, be very useful.

If you would like to support community radio initiatives in
Namibia, please send information to:

    CANAMCO
    c/o Peter J. Van Wyk
    P.O. Box 50295
    Windhoek, Namibia

    Tel: (061) 37908
    Fax: (061) 33347


Written in Nambia by:

Justine Akman, AMARC (The World Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive