Peace: Plan it ? Community Radio: Media for Peace by Ursula ...

11 Days of Global Unity ? Central Iowa, has, since it began five years ago, featured articles written by local citizens in a variety of media outlets, one article for each of the 11 days. We are grateful to the authors and media for sharing these thoughts to involve, inspire and inform people to create a culture of peace and celebrate a sustainable future, the goal of 11 Days of Global Unity internationally. This year, our local theme is ?Peace ? Plan It, Peace ? Plant It, Peace Planet.?

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Broadcasting is a term stemming from agriculture. It describes the act of throwing seeds out to the field in hopes that they grow into food and flowers after reaching fertile ground.

Radio broadcasting is the act of throwing ideas and sound out to the community in hopes that they will grow into conversation, inspiration and big ideas.

At first, radio was used mostly by the military for point-to-point communications. It was ordinary people, radio buffs in their attics, who realized that this new technology presented opportunity for public conversation. This historical fact is the basis for community radio: the understanding that broadcasting comes from common peoples? desires to communicate.

Community radio is a media movement that has spread throughout the world and is widely associated with democracy, the preservation of local culture and furthering world peace. Its creation as a media form dates back to the late 1940?s when it was introduced as a way to offer media access to union members and their families during a labor strike in Bolivia.

At around the same time, in the United States, Pacifica Foundation founded community radio as a concept and built KPFA in Berkeley, California. Pacifica took its name from Pacifism; the peace movement in the 1940?s that inspired founder Lewis Hill and his colleagues. They believed that sincere and open mass communication would further this mission. Pacifica?s mission was defined to ??contribute to a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors??

Community radio stations are places for people to meet on the air. They are also literally physical spaces to congregate and collaborate. The process is extraordinarily fun and often life-changing. It typically leads to individual creativity and self-empowerment. Participants find it satisfying, not just to make radio in this unique fashion, but to help transform community life for the better.

Doing community radio is an act of faith in the power of unpredictable conversations, the exchange of ideas, the pure pleasure of communication, and confidence in our own community to move ahead. It is based in the belief that we may not all agree or share common ground, but there is always the potential for us to understand each other when provided a place for real sharing and individuals? self-expression.

According to Hill, ??Indeed to get any real art or any significant communication, one must rely entirely on individuals? The basic situation of broadcasting must be such that artists and thinkers have a place to work?with freedom.?

Where else can unpopular actions be explained at length? Where else on the air, can fledgling artists introduce their music? Where else can public officials explain their actions? Where else can we discuss the nature of life deep into the night? Where else can we hear the variety of voices that make our local communities interesting, fun and unique?

Ursula Ruedenberg is KHOI?s interim volunteer project manager and Chair of the Board. She has worked in Community Radio since 2000. She is Pacifica Radio Network?s Affiliate Coordinator and works with approximately 200 radio stations in North America and Europe. Ursula grew up in Ames.

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The opinions expressed are that of the author. You may also find these 11 Days articles at www.khoi_fm.org, read them in the Iowa State Daily, and read and listen to them at www.amesnewsonline.com and www.amestrib.com. You may also hear them broadcast on KASI at about 8:45am during the 11 Days.

Source: http://11daysames.org/2012/09/14/peace-plan-it-community-radio-media-for-peace-by-ursula-ruedenberg/

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