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Success Rewards Bush Courage By Michello Cho [Radio World * July 2003] CAPE TOWN, South Africa: The Bush Radio story exemplifies the power of positive thinking. The first community radio initiative in South Africa -- dubbled "the Little Radio Station That Could ... and Did" -- proudly celebrated its 10th anniversary in May (2003). The celebrations kicked off on 1 May with a "10 Years/10 Days/10 Bucks" campaign. The award-winning station asked listeners and newcomers to support its decade of low-budget, high-quality programming with a donation of 10 rand or more during 10 days of festivities in which Bush Radio re-aired broadcasts from 1993 to the present. Since its humble beginnings during the Apartheid era, Bush Radio has always striven to serve as the voice of the people. It was started by the Cassette Education Trust (CASET), a small group interested in developing an alternative audio communications system. They recorded information in radio format to cassettes, made duplicates and distributed them in townships in and around Cape Town. Aiming to inform and educate the poor, the tapes covered literacy, hygiene, health and, of course, political issues. CASET had one underlying philosophy, "Information is Power," and the initiators knew that the airwaves would be integral to its long-term educational and empowerment objectives. CASET eventually proposed establishing a community radio facility at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), just outside Cape Town. Because the university was located far from the city and surrounded by dense bush, it was known as Bush College. After much deliberation, it became clear that the UWC campus would not be a suitably accessible location and operations moved to Salt River, Cape Town. In 1992, CASET dissolved as an organisation and relaunched as a community radio initiative. Keeping the original campus name, Bush Radio was born. For the first time in South African history, black people would have the opportunity to be broadcasters. Money was needed and Bush Radio approached numerous international donors for support. Fredrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), a German nongovernmental organisation with a keen interest in training potential broadcasters, provided crucial help. Once Bush Radio secured the support of FES, it never looked back and word spread quickly. Job applications started to flood in and Bush Radio soon established itself as a key trainer and lobbyist for community radio in South Africa. Pressuring the government to grant it a broadcast license, training fledging stations across the country, and building a strong reputation internationally, Bush Radio slowly rooted itself and the concept of community radio. After having a number of its license applications denied, Bush Radio decided to broadcast illegally. In May 1993, a group of about 20 volunteer activists took a 16-channel mixing desk, CDs, tapes and an illegally obtained transmitter to a room, set up and prepared to switch it on. They circulated a press release, designed a short program schedule and composed a song. After a few test runs, Bush Radio went on the air. The first broadcast lasted four hours and, just as quickly as Bush Radio went on air, the authorities raided the premises, shut it down and seized all the equipment. Two key members were charged with illegal broadcasting, illegal possession of broadcast apparatus and obstructing the course of justice. The case dragged on but, following tremendous pressure from individuals and organisations worldwide, the state dropped the charges eight months later. Today the station operates from a three-story building and boasts digital studio tools, sharing its facilities and resources with the Broadcast Training Institute -- a center for the training of producers, journalists and media-makers. The award-winning Bush Radio program YAA 2000 (Youth Against AIDS) earned a silver medal for Best Radio Program at the New York Radio Festival in 2001. The previous year, the station won the prestigious Prince Claus Award for development and, most recently, station director Zane Ibrahim received a honourable token of appreciation from the eight Association Mondiale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires (AMARC) conference in Kathmandu, Nepal. These achievements, together with the quality programming, convinced the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to grant the station a four-year broadcast license in June 2002 -- just reward for an extraordinary example of bravery and determination. * * * Michelle Cho is a producer/coordinator at Bush Radio in Cape Town, South Africa. ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
