February 13, World Radio Day

One of the reasons I do 365 Holidays a Year, in addition to my daily history fix, is to showcase worthy causes. Research on World Radio Day brought many interesting things to my attention. First of all, even in the age of Internet, radio is often the only source of information, especially developing countries. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent use radio to coordinate activities during disasters.

The date February 13 was chosen as the date that UN Radio was established in 1946. The resolution read, “the UN cannot achieve the purposes for which it was created unless the peoples of the world are fully informed of its aims and activities,” and the United Nation makes all of its sessions available to the public from its media center. I went there and was, indeed, able to watch the general session.

COMACO (Community Markets for Conservation) of Zambia is a non-profit that distributed more than 2,000 solar and wind- Prime-radios to farmer groups free of charge to listen to a weekly programme called Farm Talk. Farm Talk focuses on conservation farming, nutrition, gender and family planning, family business, leadership development and livestock care in a conversational, easy-to-follow format.  It also very successfully interviews local farmers and showcases their achievements.

Happy World Radio Day!