This year’s World Radio Day, taking place on February 13, 2014, will focus on gender equality.
First organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2012, World Radio Day was conceptualized as a day “to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radios.”
Over the past few years, there have been numerous World Radio Day events, including a LPFM applicant meet-up in Seattle in 2013. Another project last year involved the production of more than 300 audio documentaries on the topic of radio.
With this year’s emphasis on gender equality, UNESCO hopes “to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment” by encouraging stations and organizations to work on alleviating stereotypical portrayals in radio, to develop youth radio programs particularly focused on girl producers, and to promote safety of women journalists.
In honor of World Radio Day, UNESCO is encouraging radio stations from all over the world to participate in some way. If you are stumped about how to celebrate, the World Radio Day website includes a list of potential World Radio Day activities that you could initiate at your station. If you have some specific events or programming in the works, UNESCO can help with promotion. We’d also love to learn more about World Radio Day events, so please share your plans with Radio Survivor in the comments.
