The past September school holidays saw Bush Radio host a very successful Media Kidocracy Konfrence (MKK2013) – 22 to 27 September 2013. This was the 13th conference which drew young people from Bontheheuwel to as far away as Germany, participating in various discussions and productions around the theme “the role of media in democracy“.
The conference took place at the beautiful Mizpah Conference Centre in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve near Grabouw.
Team 1 of the photography group dealt with sexism and sexist stereotypes
Besides plenary sessions which dealt with media literacy, gender and elections, the conference also included visits to various media outlets around Cape Town (radio, television, print and online) and a special “give back to the community” outreach session at Agape 2 – home for disabled and abandoned children. The conference also included lifeskill sessions on active citizenship and substance abuse as well as daily outside broadcasts from Grabouw.
Team 2 of the photography group dealt with nature and pollution
The conference programme closed with what delegates always consider a highlight; the intensive production workshops which this year again included: television, radio, online, print, photography as well as two new productions; t-shirt and poster printing and a stage drama.
A special thanks goes to all the Bush Radio Children’s Radio Education Workshop (CREW) facilitators and volunteers as well as the Bush Radio staff and trainees who provided the logistical support for the conference.
Bush Radio staff checking out “Media on the Move” – the newspaper produced by MKK2013 delegates
A Bush Radio 89.5FM project, the Media Kiodcracy (kid+democracy) conference is taking place from the 22nd – 27th September in Grabouw. MKK is a youth media conference for participants aged 12 – 18 years and provides them with skills and knowledge to produce various forms of media. This year, MKK will produce radio, television, photography, online, drama and art. Two newspapers will also be produced, one before, and one during the conference.
The theme for this year’s conference is “The Role of Media in Democracy”.
The Managing Director of Bush Radio, Brenda Leonard said that “MKK is taking place in a historic year for media in South Africa. Bush Radio is celebrating 20 years since its first illegal broadcast, and 18 years of legal broadcasting. The National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) is also celebrating 20 years of its existence.“
Bush Radio initiated the then Radio Kidocracy Konference, which changed to the Media Kidocracy Konference in 2006. Initially it started as a conference where children could talk about issues and policies in broadcasting affecting them directly, to make their voices heard. With the changing landscape of media in South Africa, we decided to include other forms of media in 2006, and with this, the Media Kidocracy Konference (MKK) was born.
Delegates are expected from community radio stations across South Africa, youth groups and schools, and will include over 90 youth participants.
Today, MKK as an opportunity for youth to reflect their views on the issues on the table, discuss how the media portrays these issues, and then produce the type of media that talks directly to the youth. The skills and information they gain over the five days is part of, not only strengthening their knowledge and skill set, but also strengthening democracy in South Africa.
Partners for this year’s conference are: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Media Development and Diversity Agency and Whalecoast Monitor
Background on MKK
As part of a growing need for youth participation in the decision-making process and policy formulation around children’s broadcasting, in 2000 Bush Radio initiated a conference. The Kidocracy (Kid-democracy) name was created for the event – to denote a form of society characterised by social equality and acceptance of young people with representation for and by young people.
The Media Kidocracy Konference aims to establish critical awareness and understanding among young people by exposing youth to information and experiences that will enable them to identify issues they feel are relevant, as well as explore their role in media and social issues. MKK also assists participants in devising strategies for addressing social issues by using the media as a tool to help resolve and address these issues.
After intense planning and a busy week the 12th Annual Media Kidocracy Konfrence (MKK2012) came to an end on Friday, the 14th of December 2012.
About 80 youth delegates (aged 12 – 21) drawn from all over the country, SADC and as far away as Northern Ireland attended MKK.
Below are the “products” which showcase how the young people interpreted the various themes outlined for this year. For a large percentage of the delegates this was the first time they had been directly involved in the production of media. A strong element of all the MKK conferences have been linking a practical implementation of ideas generated in the various intensive panel discussions and workshop groups.
This year’s theme was Youth Participation in Democracy, with sub-themes being:
Youth Rights and Civic Participation – Human Rights
As part of Bush Radio regular staff development sessions we thought we’d learn a little bit more about how our signal gets to our listeners and meet some of the people involved in the process.
On Wednesday we visited Sentech, which Bush Radio uses to distribute its FM signal (89.5) to listeners.
Frank Creese – Manager: Cape Town Operations
Frank Creese who is the Manager of Cape Town Operations for Sentech gave us a presentation about Sentech and its services and also conducted a tour of their facilities.
Some facts about Sentech: it has 220 transmitting stations, 742 radio transmitters, 627 television transmitters and 550 staff members at its 16 centres nationally.
Ernst Heydenrych, Senior Technician explaining the finer points of transmission and compression to Sinethemba, Isherene and Lusanda
Bush Radio is currently considering upgrading the old Telkom copper wire connection which send our signal from the studio in Salt River to Sentech and Creese shared some clarity on why fibre optic is the way to go to get improved audio quality to the transmitter.
Gary Urion, Supervisor Transmission Centre Western Region (centre) with Sinethemba, Freedom and Victor
Our staff were amazed when we were taken into the Sentech’s operations centre where the main broadcasting (TV and Radio) signals are monitored 24/7, 365 days a year.
View from transmitter site in Tygerberg
We then went to the Sentech’s transmitter site in Tygerberg where many of the community and commercial radio stations transmitters are located. A highlight was also seeing the new digital television transmitter.
Bush Radio89.5FM, in partnership with the Deutsche Welle (DW) Academy, is currently holding a 6-day Community TV and Local News training course (23 – 28 May 2011), for various participants with the aim of strengthening their skills as community television journalists.
The enthusiasm of the trainers, Birgit Keller and Martin Schönian, co-ordinator Christopher Springate and the participants is creating an infectious excitement that can be felt by all at Bush Radio’s studios.
Christopher Springate
Christopher Springate, the course co-ordinator said: “To be specific, we intend to enlighten the participants with their reporting, writing, researching, filming and editing skills.”
Birgit Keller said that as the trainers they are not doing the course to have the participants do things in a certain way, but rather to show them how it works. She also added that they are keen to show the participants how to manage current affairs in order to get ideas on how they can improve.
Birgit Keller
Participants are from various television and radio stations including Bay TV, CTV, Soweto TV, Radio KC, Bush Radio, Community Video Education Trust and the Oguni Solidarity Forum.
Lebogang Kubyane from Soweto TV said: “I am extremely impressed with the course and what it has to offer. The trainers are great people and it is comforting to know that I am able to learn new and interesting things everyday.”
The course started off with a general introduction and ranges from activities like editing vox-pops, writing for television, “on-camera” work and production editing.
Martin Schönian said, “The reason for the course being aimed at community journalists is because they have the responsibility to voice the communities’ opinions more often as opposed to commercial stations. Therefore they need to be highly skilled to do this task.”
Martin Schönian
Birgit Keller gave the final word on the participants and hosts: “I am really impressed with the participants. They are truly bringing forth a great amount of energy and good ideas. I also need to add that it is interesting to be at Bush Radio. The friendly staff and warm welcome which we receive creates a warm and good atmosphere for all.”
Bush Radio is pleased to announce that we have two new members on our breakfast team – and they’re starting stiptelik at 6am on Monday, May 9.
Monde Kapa: familiar for his work on Bush Radio, a few stints at regional and national radio stations, television and commercials (see Monde’s CV). Monde returns to Cape Town airwaves and our online/mobile radio audience as the host of the energetic and dynamic Bush Radio breakfast show.
Monde will be giving back to the station which has introduced many of the radio and television personalities you now see in South Africa.
His role will be to ensure that the Breakfast Show continues to deliver the best and most real radio Cape Town has to offer.
Bhavna Singh: who may be familiar to most through her work on South Africa’s first 24-hour news channel, as well as her print and online work, will join Monde in the studio.
Bhavna describes herself as Durbanite-turned-Joburger finding her way in the Cape on her blog, and what better way for her to experience the Mother City than through the Mother of Community Radio in Africa.
The youngest member of the team is Dennis Kofi – affectionately known in the office as Dennis the Menace. Bush Radio is giving this young buck a taste of media and also readying the world for him.
Other additions to the Breakfast Team will be announced over the course of the month, so stay tuned to 89.5 FM or visit www.bushradio.co.za.
Vinette is most popular for her role in the soap opera 7de Laan, but we at Bush Radio remember her as the narrator of a series of
programmes we produced in 1998 with Molo Songololo, the national children’s rights network, called Silent Shame, Silent Crime which dealt with incest.
We pulled a recording from our archives and played it for her. Click here to listen
John Tottenham, Wesley Wessels (centre) and Janelle Nichols
We then had another visit from someone who was last at Bush Radio in 2004. John Tottenham was a participant in a programme run at the station with a group called Canada World Youth. John was a student at the University of Waterloo at that time and during the project he was teamed up with former Bush Radio trainee and now editor of The Dankish, Wesley Wessels, who also came along for the visit.
John is currently working for an engineering company in Canada and came to show his wife, Janelle, South Africa.
Rhode (6th from left) with some of the Bush Team
Also this week, former trainee producer and newsroom intern Rhode Marshall, now a content producer for the Mail and Guardian, came to say hi.
We found out that the television journalist enjoys listening to the Breakfast Show (via Twitter) and we felt it was only right that he had an opportunity to join the craziness in the studio.
Dreadlock brothers: Lester Kiewit looks on while Chad Saaiman explains his hairstyle
As if that wasn’t enough excitement for Victor J, Chad Saaiman joined them in the studio.
They discussed Saaiman’s new CD The Flight but – because the guest presenter and musician share a hairdresser – the conversation turned to their signature dreadlocks! And the speed at which Bush Radio gets up video, audio and pictures.
Wednesdays are becoming popular for not only for its Maak Victor Mal slot but also for its general craziness. This morning was nothing unusual for the team but we thought we would share some of the happenings in studio with you.
Victor and ZDF's Ulrike Eichnin going through shot sets
Click to hear international recording artist Zaki Ibrahim
Capturing all this madness unique to the breakfast show was Ulrike Eichin from Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) – a public-service German television channel, who along with other colleagues are working on a unique documentary covering the lives of South African’s in a 24 hour cycle.
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