Learning and License

It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Bush Radio.

We handed out Matric study packs to learners at Modderdam and Glendale High in partnership with Van Schaik Books, helped plan a careers day at St Agnes Primary in Woodstock, as well as hosted station and programme managers from various radio stations in southern Africa as part of our partnership on local radio with UNESCO.

All of this was made worth it by the announcement by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) that we have been granted a renewal on our broadcast license until October 2018!

Stationery Handovers

Bush Radio’s, Lusanda Bill hand over the stationery to Modderdam High Principal, Mr Snyers

Principal of Modderdam High, Mr Snyers said the timing of the stationery is perfect because this time of the year learners need all the support they can get. Principal Achmat Chotia of Glendale High said he was delighted and inspired by the donation made by Bush Radio and Van Schaik Bookstore to the matrics. “With all the support that the learners are getting from the community is an indication to the learners that they must know that there are people who care and wish they succeed” Chotia added.

Marketing Manager of Van Schaik Bookstore, Margaret Vyver-Rambau said they started this project after they realised that stationery is very important to a learner, especially during exams.

Excited Glendale High matrics await their stationery packs

Vyver-Rambau added that it is important to work with the media in playing a part in encouraging children to study further as they are the future leaders.

Brand Manager, Melanie Foxcroft said to be involved in projects such as these are very important as Van Schaik believes in furthering education especially for young people.

St Agnes Primary careers day 2013

Each year St Agnes Primary School in Woodstock hold a career day where teachers hope to get learners to start thinking about career choices. As part of the day they get speakers from various fields to chat to the learners to help inspire and give them advice. Learners are encouraged to dress up to represent their chosen career and the teachers at the school get to put on school uniforms.

Left to Right: Wayne Mckay, Nathan Adams + Bhavna Singh join the careers day event

Bush Radio was asked if we could arrange a couple of guest speakers for the event and we called upon some of our volunteers and contacts to come help out. The children were thoroughly entertained, and inspired by Bhavna Singh (former Breakfast Rush team member and currently an ETV news anchor), Wayne Mckay (comedian, mc and presenter of Laid Back), Nathan Adams (The Daily Voice entertainment editor) and Yazeed Kamaldien (freelance photographer and journalist)

Nathan Adams chatting with the learners

Financial Management training for Managers

Managers from the various radio stations

Bush Radio in partnership with the UNESCO hosted a Financial Management training course from the 14 – 18 October 2013. Station Managers and Programme Managers came from Namibia (Live FM, Ohangwena Community Radio, Base FM and !Ah FM), Lesotho (Mafeteng Community radio) and South Africa (Bush Radio, Jozi FM, Radio Riverside, Radio Atlantis and Valley FM). This course is part of a broader project called “Empowering Local Radio’s with ICT’s”

School holidays – a good time to learn

While everyone may be on school holidays in South Africa at Bush Radio it is always a good time to brush up or learn new skills.

In the first week of the holidays Bush Radio hosted the UNESCO Empowering Local Radio with ICTs for Bush Radio and Radio Atlantis.

The second week saw the young people who are part of the Children’s Radio Education Workshop (CREW) get further practical training.

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The mother has #COP17 covered

Bushradio's COP17 newsteam: L to R - Tashneem Abrahams (VOC), Lusanda Bill (Bushradio), Xolewla Mvumvu (MotheoFM) and Wesley Wessels (Bushradio)

Check out a few of the stories filed by the Bushradionews team based in Durban during the COP17 Conference below. The special coverage was made possible through a partnership between Bush Radio and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and involved training and community dialogues.

The content produced by the team is being distributed to all radio stations in South Africa as well as via the World Association of Community Radio broadcasters (AMARC) and is being carried by AllAfrica.

Remember you can follow the team on twitter (@Bushradio) or by check out their posts (Bushradionews).

COP17 kicks off in Durban #COP17

President Jacob Zuma welcomes delegates

Lesotho Going Green at COP17

Canada to pull out of Kyoto Protocol

Greenpeace says renewable energy can work

Melting Glaciers in the Himalayas

New technology created for Climate Change

Kids are calling government to do more in fighting climate change

Canadian Youth Delegation buying back their future

WAGGS – Educating women on how to better their lives

Planet in a BIG crisis

#COP17 Protest (Video Report)

Waste Pickers Civil Society wants to benefit from the Green Climate Fund #COP17

African negotiators identify important factors to be discussed #COP17

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Get your info – breaking news on #COP17 here

Bush Radio 89.5 FM will be providing coverage of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to various radio stations and other media organisations in South Africa and around the world for the duration of the conference (28 November – 9 December 2011) in Durban.

You will be able to access updates, audio, video and pictures via the Bushradionews platform or by following us on Twitter and searching here #COP17.

This project is a continuation of a partnership between the station and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, which involved a in-depth training course for radio stations throughout South Africa, community dialogues and the creation of a COP17 focused newsteam lead by Bush Radio and drawn from other stations in South Africa.

Related posts:

Getting journalists ready for #COP17

Tackling climate change in Khayelitsha #COP17

Getting journalists ready for #COP17

For the past three months, we have been running our climate change – COP17 campaign, which consists of community dialogues, training for broadcasters and running a news desk during COP17.

In the past two weeks (7 – 18 November) our offices have reverberated with the words COP17 and climate change – training and equipping broadcasters to demystify the issues of climate change and COP17, and enabling them to engage in debates at their stations.

Participants getting to grips with the issues

Bush Radio, in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, developed a training course which brought together radio journalists from throughout South Africa. With the training, the broadcasters will be able to highlight the issues of climate change and translate these issues to their various communities in a clear and efficient way. In order to acheive this, briefings were held with various stakeholders in the area of climate change – these included the public, scientists, activists, civil society, politicians, international broadcasters and the United Nations. The course also upgraded their production and journalism skills.

The BBC's Steve Martin engaging the group on the importance of community media

Two participants will also be selected to form part of the Bush Radio newsteam that will be heading to the conference to cover it for South African radio stations as well as the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)

What some of the participants felt about the training:

“The workshop has opened my mind by giving me a better understanding of climate change and COP17. I feel like a new encyclopaedia filled with more knowledge than Google”.  – Tashneem Abrahams – VOC

Team building through dance

“The two weeks of being in Cape Town has really flown by quickly. The staff at Bush Radio has been very friendly, but most of all, the entire workshop has been great and the facilitator was great too. Thank you so much to everyone who has made this possible.”  –Xolelwa Mvumvu – Motheo FM

“Having been part of this 2 weeks climate change workshop has been a great experience. Meeting up with journalists from other provinces and having fun while learning was definitely the cherry on top.” –  Bongani Gina – uMgungundlovu Community Radio KZN

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UNESCO and Bush Radio present “Women and Technology”

Bush Radio in partnership with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) is currently hosting a two-week training course for twelve women in community radio to produce radio features on women in the fields of science, technology and engineering.

At least one radio producer from each province of South Africa is included in the training with four coming from Western Cape stations.  “The stations included in the training are mix of urban, peri-urban and rural stations,” says Brenda Leonard, the managing director of Bush Radio.

This training is taking place from the 24^th October 2011 to the 4th November 2011, and will form part of a broader project called “Upgrading the technical and radio production skills of women in community radio to produce features and documentaries on women in science and engineering” that is funded by the UNESCO International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC). This activity falls within the framework of UNESCO contribution towards strengthening free, independent media and developing human capacity.

It is hoped that the project will not only benefit the women, but those radio stations they represent, and the broader community they broadcast too, as the skills attained during the training will improve the overall quality and content of each station.

Quanita Kamaar from Voice of the Cape said, “Participating in the training programme has enabled me to develop my skills and share what I have gained with the rest of the community.”

Another participant, Granny Makhinya from Phalaborwa FM, ended off by saying, “The training has given me the opportunity to develop my technical capabilities.”

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