To raised perceive this choice, and on the event of World Radio Day on 13 February, which is being celebrated below the theme “Radio and Belief”, UN Information spoke to the ITU’s Director of Radiocommunication, Mario Maniewicz, who started by explaining the medium’s significance in Africa.
This interview was performed in French and has been edited and tailored for publication.
Mario Maniewicz: In Africa, Radio broadcasting nonetheless reigns supreme over different types of mass media channels. Radio is a robust medium for celebrating humanity in all its variety and constitutes a platform for democratic discourse. On the world degree, radio stays essentially the most broadly consumed medium. This distinctive capability to achieve out the widest viewers means radio can form a society’s expertise of variety, stand as an enviornment for all voices to talk out, be represented and heard.
Moreover this, radio helps listeners really feel much less remoted and extra linked to their group. In occasions of emergency and catastrophe, radio broadcasting is without doubt one of the strongest and efficient methods of delivering early warnings. Well timed, related, and sensible data helps efficient response measures and saves lives. For folks immediately affected, it comes as a significant type of humanitarian help. As we’ve got seen through the COVID-19 pandemic, radio has saved folks linked and entertained, ensured continuity in studying, helped struggle misinformation, and disseminated essential well being data.
The ITU lately introduced the identification of latest FM frequencies for Africa. What’s the significance?
Mario Maniewicz: Through the years we’ve got seen a gradual improve in demand for high quality radio broadcasting in Africa. This improve additionally means there’s strain on the out there radio frequencies and particularly for FM radio broadcasting. During the last two years, ITU in collaboration with the African Telecommunications Union and radiocommunication specialists have been engaged on a mission to determine new frequencies that will facilitate the enlargement of FM radio broadcasting companies throughout the continent.
We’ve been capable of determine over 18,000 frequency assignments that may now be used for FM Broadcasting in Africa with out inflicting or receiving dangerous interference. The success of this mission helps to safe the long-term sustainability of African radio broadcasting and paves the best way for the introduction of digital sound broadcasting in Africa.
There have been a variety of modifications within the media panorama lately. The place does the ITU assume radio is headed?
Mario Maniewicz: This 12 months marks 127 years for the reason that first radio transmission was made by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 on the Isle of Wight, which led ultimately to the signing of the Worldwide Radiotelegraph Conference in 1906. All through this era, the Worldwide Telecommunication Union (ITU) has performed a central function in advancing the medium worldwide, establishing and updating worldwide rules on the usage of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite tv for pc orbits. These rules additionally prescribe how radio gear and methods should function to make sure dependable coexistence amongst radio companies of various administrations and to allow essentially the most environment friendly utilization of immediately’s more and more crowded airwaves.
So, radio remains to be going robust and at ITU we’ll proceed to function the steward of world airwaves, making certain we are able to join safely, sustainably, and innovatively for hundreds of years to come back. Accessible and inexpensive, radio can attain virtually everybody, in all places. Its loyal listeners embrace folks in large cities, these in small cities and villages, these in rural communities, and even these in essentially the most remoted locations on the planet.
A part of folks’s belief in radio is because of its low value and ubiquitous nature. Radio stays inexpensive and might be listened to in all places, even when electrical energy or web connectivity will not be dependable. Radio is thereby probably the most standard technique of communication, utilized by an amazing majority of individuals. In my opinion, radio leaves nobody behind.
UNAMA/Fardin Waezi
Inside an Afghan radio studio, the place girls’s voices name for democracy and human rights.
Do you see conventional radio broadcasting by frequency turning into out of date and in some way leaving folks behind?
Mario Maniewicz: I feel there’ll all the time be a spot for over-the-air radio. Although increasingly persons are connecting with different digital platforms, or on-line, there are nonetheless people who find themselves both not linked, or they do not have electrical energy, or they’re in distant locations the place these applied sciences will not be simply accessible, or they lack the financial means to make use of this different platform.
So, I feel that broadcast radio is all the time going to be standard, beginning with the truth that it is utterly free. It is the one certainly one of all these platforms that’s utterly free. For the others, it’s a must to pay for connectivity, it’s a must to pay for particular gear, however right here it isn’t. So, I feel there’ll all the time be a spot for it, possibly not in developed international locations, or in large cities, however in creating international locations, in rural areas, extra remoted, the place folks do not have very excessive requirements of residing, it would all the time be essentially the most widespread means.
You talked about the belief that folks have in radio, which is the theme for this 12 months’s World Radio Day. You additionally stated that it’s a platform for democracy. Are you able to come again to this relationship of belief that folks have in direction of radio?
Mario Maniewicz: Completely. We’re in a world the place faux information is unfold in all places and causes injury to everybody, however the platforms par excellence for this sort of factor are social networks. As a result of with social networks, there is no such thing as a particular person accountability. Folks can submit what they need with out being liable for what they submit.
Then again, with radio, there’s all the time an individual liable for the radio programme that we’re listening to. So, if that you’re listening to a severe station, that the potential of bouncing round, of latest kinds and could be very low, or nil, or non-existent. In order that’s why I feel that broadcast radio is extra dependable for folks than different on-line platforms.
I discussed democracy as a result of, usually, radio stations give area to everybody to precise themselves, to all political colors and to all actors of the group. So, it’s a common instrument to speak and to precise themselves to the remainder of the inhabitants…I feel the distinction is that radio is extra clear.
Thanks very a lot Mr. Maniewicz. Do you could have a ultimate message on World Radio Day?
Mario Maniewicz: Effectively, my message is exactly to make the most of this implies, of this medium, which is the common medium par excellence and to defend this implies, this medium. As a result of it’s all the time below assault by new applied sciences. Not as a result of they compete — that is not an issue — however as a result of the supply of radio waves for radio is being more and more contested by different companies.
So, I feel it is necessary for governments and regulators in international locations to defend the airwaves which might be assigned to radio broadcasting, both analogue or digital. And it’s exactly by going to digital radio that we save spectrum and due to this fact we are able to liberate extra spectrum with out killing radio.
