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
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.
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
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
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 24th 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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