Radio Apac
Launched in October 1999, Radio Apac 92.9 FM is a community radio station broadcasting in northern Uganda that works to sensitise and educate residents of Apac about HIV/AIDS and other issues of importance to the community. Radio Apac was implemented by a partnership of the Commonwealth of Learning, an Apac-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Apac Sustainable Development Initiatives (ASDI), and members of the Apac community. Together they hope to improve the way and speed via which community members access and share information, as well as to improve the livelihood of Apac's people through participatory initiatives that are inspired by its broadcasts. Specific objectives include:
- To support the community and stimulate rural development by facilitating access to information.
- To stimulate and create capacity-building within the community by providing access to local, national, and international information services and resources.
- To import skills in information searching including the use of modern information technologies.
- To generate, record, broadcast, and store local information and knowledge from resources available to the community.
- To conduct relevant training for building entrepreneurial skills of the women and youth in the community.
Radio Apac designs, develops, and markets media services and messages for the community of Apac. The station engages the participation of the community in the production of the programmes, in part by holding research workshops to identify the broadcast information needs of communities. In an effort to reach as many community members as possible, Radio Apac broadcasts in English and Luo (Lango). Its programmes are bilingual, multi-cultural, and multi-ethnic, and aim to respond to the social and cultural needs of minority groups. Furthermore, the station recognises women producers and other minorities in the overall production of its programmes.
The initial broadcast of the station was over a 40-km radius for the Apac community. With the extension broadcast services, the coverage now includes Apac, Lira, Gulu, Kitgum, Kaberamaido, Kumi, Soroti, Masindi, and parts of Nakasongola. Initial programming was educational - including distance education for primary and secondary schools, adult literacy programmes, health education, nutrition based on traditional foods, AIDS awareness, and farming practices. Programming has expanded to include agriculture, health, women and youth, environment, business, vocational training programmes, and governance. Also, Radio Apac broadcasts programmes provided by Voice Of America (VOA).
Radio Apac also operates a multimedia centre to serve the communities of Apac. It includes a public cellular phone booth, fax services, video recording and editing, audio recording and editing, word processing services, desktop publishing services, and internet access.
Health, HIV/AIDS, Agriculture, Education, Women, Youth, Economic Development, Democratisation, Good Governance.
Organisers explain that radio as a communication technology has enormous potential for community education in Apac and Northern Uganda because there is no need to set up telecommunication infrastructure and power cabling in order to access users, which is important considering the very limited infrastructure available in Apac. Many members of the community already posses radio receivers and are thus readily able to access the radio service.
National Association of Broadcasters Uganda, Community Multimedia Center Network, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, AMARC Africa.
Email from Jack Otim to Soul Beat Africa on March 1 2005; Radio Apac website, June 19 2006 and January 30 2009; and email from Jimmy Okello to The Communication Initiative on January 30 2009.
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Radio Apac
Radio Apacis a community radio station that broadcasts educational & developmental programmes and entertainment to the community. Radio Apac was ..
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