UNESCO has supported research and studies into the issue of Community media, since 1982, it has also set up community radio stations in Africa and Asia. The 1997 UNESCO

World Communication report covered a section on the growing ‘movement’ of community radio, identifying Community Radio as a medium to give voice to the voiceless, and as a process of enabling marginalized communities to express their views.

Community Radio provides a unique medium for citizens to share their views with the community as well as critique governance decisions. The notions of transparency and good governance take on new dimensions and democracy is reinforced.

Timely and locally relevant developmental information can be shared using this medium of particular significance is its power to jump the illiteracy divides, allowing the unlettered women to become active participants in social change process. It thus emerges as one of the most promising tools of community development.


Homa Bay projection in Kenya was the first Community Radio in Africa. In the age of convergence technologies, with the advent of online communications and multimedia, Sri Lanka’s Kothmale Internet Radio experiment created by Wijayananda Jayaweera and Louie N. Tabling of Tambuli Community Radio and creator of ‘Village on the Air’ and numerous others have emerged as champions, innovators and leading experts whose work has led to advancement of Community Radios.

The experiences of UNESCO’s various projects have been well documented in several reports. This handbook has emerged as an invaluable addition to the resources on Community Radio.

The introductory chapter highlights the basic ingredients necessary to set up a Community Radio station enabling the community to think the communications needs and demystifying the infrastructure and ‘soft’ needs. Given that there are 2 billion radio sets (The number continues to grow) and 20,000 radio stations around the world, the scope of outreach can be almost global. While a traditional radio stations could cost as much as USD 20000, a Community Radio station can be set up with just USD 3000. The ultimate judge of the radio program is a listener and the Community Radio often produces stuff that is valuable to the listeners.

The handbook is a guide to not only setting up a station but it helps an NGO or community to respond to the communication needs of the communities it serves. It is divided into eight well thought out chapters.

The first chapter addresses the fundamental principles and features of Community Radio and traditional broadcasting and its evolution; especially in the context of globalisation. It emerges as an important medium. The second chapter covers features and functions of community radio, followed by two chapters dedicated to legal and technical aspects respectively. The fifth chapter provides a hands-on guide to getting started, covering preparatory, management, location, legal, programming and sustainability aspects, besides fund raising.

The sixth chapter is dedicated to programme policies and balancing news and views, and ways to focus on educational, cultural and religious broadcasts besides telling the reader on ways of doing audience surveys. The seventh chapter deals in framing a code of conduct, selecting community broadcasters and the training needs and how it can be fulfilled.

Five detailed case studies form the best practices and lessons learnt from Radio Olutanga, Sagarmatha, Ada, Bush Radio, and Radio Chaguarurco from Philippines, Nepal, Ghana, South Africa and Ecuador respectively.

The reviewer recommends this book as a must-read-and-collect resource for all interested in community radio.