By KN and FD for APCNews AMMAN, Jordan,
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“ICTs play an increasingly important role in the day-to-day work of community radio producers,” states Karel Novotny at the ninth annual conference of AMARC. The World association of community radio broadcasters conference took place in Jordan’s capital city of Amman between November 11 and 17 2006. Novotny and colleagues of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) were there to contribute two workshops: one on community wireless networking and the other on the gender evaluation methodology (GEM). This article looks at the wireless efforts specifically.
The workshop on wireless networking consisted of an intensive two-and-a-half days training session and ran parallel to the main AMARC 9 activities. Its purpose was to train participants in building wireless networks, using low cost technology and even some widely available recycled materials. At the end of the training, it was thought, a participant should be able to assess the suitability of building a community wireless network in a given environment and with available resources.
The whole point of the exercise here was to get the community radio practitioners to think about low cost technology solutions that would help them build and administer wireless networks that would respond to the particular needs of their radio station. “The most ambitious goal though,” said trainer Fatima Bhyat, “was to make the participants enthusiastic and knowledgeable enough to be able to train others in wireless network administration.”
The workshop, which builds on APC’s experience in organising a series of similar workshops in four African regions over the last two years, was run by Fatima Bhyat and Anas Tawileh, trainers specialised in wireless technologies and issues related to wireless networking.
Who was there?
Ten to thirteen participants from places as far apart as Senegal, Burma, the United States, Kenya, Bangladesh or Canada attended every workshop day. Regardless of the environment they are working in, the participants obviously proved wireless technology to be a topic that resonates with their needs in their community radios. Most participants were not typical ‘techies’, but they were radio station managers or editors responsible for certain thematic content areas.
One might wonder what motivated them to dive into the world of antenna standards and information and communication technology (ICT) jargon, especially while the main AMARC9 programme was running parallel to the workshop.
The expectations were very diverse, spanning from seeking ideas for building a distantly operated mini-radio to be operated in dangerous zones such as war zones or disaster prone areas to planning to build networks that allow reporters in the field to stream their reports directly online without having to carry around expensive equipment.
People came with concrete ideas and, in some cases, left with concrete solutions. In other cases, the feedback from radio practitioners regarding what they need the wireless for helped the trainers to plan where to focus next. “It would be a great leap forward if we were able to install radio-control software directly on a wireless router,” said Anas Tawileh about one such plan that stemmed from the workshop. “That way we could remotely operate a radio station without the need to include a PC in the set,” Tawileh explained. This is a new idea for small radio station set-ups, designed for problematic areas, and where there is a risk of equipment being confiscated or destroyed.
In the break between two training sessions, the trainers held a three hour presentation for the broader AMARC conference audience, and addressed the more general issues related to community wireless networking and the benefits that wireless networks can bring to community radios. The presentation soon turned from talking about “what wireless technology does” to “what wireless could do for you”.
The event brought together an expert of alternative power sources, a South African radio producer specialised in radio-drama and a number of radio managers. Here again, the diversity of backgrounds and experience unleashed a storm of new ideas on how and where wireless technology and community radio can work hand-in-hand.
The Amman training was an opportunity to apply previously developed training materials to a multicultural audience. Training material, which is currently available in English, French and Arabic, were also distributed to conference attendees who could not participate in APC’s wireless workshop.
Does anyone still wonder why APC cares about radio and why radio people should care at all about wireless internet?
“Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play an increasingly important role in the day-to-day work of community radio producers, as the programme editing is moving from dedicated audio-editing machines into personal computers,” explains Karel Novotny of the APC. “Programme sharing,” continues he, “happens at an accelerated pace over the internet.” Consequently, strategic use of affordable technologies is becoming key for the development of many community radios.
When asked about how community wireless networks fit into all this, Novotny has a clear answer: “Their builders aspire to bring connectivity to locations that are usually ignored by commercial internet providers, but where community radios often play an important role in information sharing and education.”
On APC’s natural fit with community radio, Novotny explains that many of APC’s projects aim to address communities whose current use of ICTs is minimal and who could benefit from such use significantly. Once community radios go online, they can become hotspots for learning about benefits that ICTs can bring to local contexts, as well as gateways to training materials produced by –but not exclusively by– the APC network. Says Novotny: “APC’s involvement with community radio is therefore likely to grow.”
