There is at present little opportunity for community radio to sustain itself through traditional forms of community radio income - individual and organisational membership, donations, and sponsorship are almost non-existent in Timor-Leste.

It is East Timor, a country with no tradition of a free and independent media, there are now over 16 locally run not-for-profit community radio stations broadcasting to local communities. Since the vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999, the community radio sector in East Timor has developed at an astounding rate. There is at least one station in every district, and about five in the capital Dili.

Background
Prior to 1999, there was only one station on air i.e. Radio Timor Kmanek (RTK) in Dili. There is now even a fledgling Community Radio Association, currently supported by Internews and UNESCO to represent community radio as a sector and lobby the government on media law, broadcast licensing and other issues. These stations were set up by local communities with support and training from a range of aid agencies including USAID/OTI, the Portuguese development NGO Inde, the Australian Union funded NGO Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad (APHEDA), the World Bank, UNESCO, the Japanese mission, Caritas Canada and the media training NGO Internews, along with other smaller project support from a broad range of NGOs.

In a country with only an estimated 60 per cent literacy rate and few are able to afford access to television, newspapers, telephone and no access to Internet outside Dili (and only at rates unaffordable to most of the population), community radio has been an essential form of communication between the capital and the districts, and for local news, information and education. Some of the more advanced radio stations such as the UNESCO supported station Lospalos in the remote east have become adept at using radio as a forum for education and community development, producing documentary series on gender, culture, children’s rights and oral history, in partnership with NGOs.

Current scenario
The community radio sector, however, is not without its problems, especially in sustainability. One such problem is electricity. Outside Dili the power supply is very unstable; some areas have been without power for over a year. This means stations have to rely on costly generator power, some stations have wind power and solar panels but this is rarely sufficient.

With low population density and chronic poverty, there is at present little opportunity for community radio to sustain itself through traditional forms of community radio income - individual and organisational membership, donations, and sponsorship are almost non-existent in Timor-Leste. Stations do earn income from community announcements through the coupon system, but NGO sponsored radio programmes and government public service announcements are likely to be the only other viable forms of independent income for this sector for some years ahead.

On a sectoral level, legislation is still being developed in the fields of media law, broadcast licensing and spectrum regulation. In concert with the government, Internews has been trying to develop community radio friendly media law and guarantee the independence of the community radio sector from government control. As with many other aspects of democracy in the world’s newest nation, there is still a steep learning curve ahead.

Excerpts from UNDP report on community radio in East Timor

Stakeholders in community radio
The Community Radio Centre (CRC), Internews, Intercooperacao Desenvolvimento (INDE), Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad (APHEDA), CARITAS Australia, UNESCO, USAID among others.