Radio Nauru FM105.1 celebrated UNESCO’s World Radio Day 13 February, in line with the international theme We Are Diversity, We Are Radio.
For World Radio Day 2020, UNESCO calls on radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsrooms and on the airwaves.
Objectives for the day include raising greater awareness among the public and the media of the importance of radio; encouraging decision makers to establish and provide access to information through radio and; enhancing networking and international cooperation among broadcasters.
Listeners in Nauru were invited to phone in and SMS their congratulatory messages as well as suggestions to make Radio Nauru better.
Radio hosts Samvic Namaduk and Serafina Jeremiah received over 40 messages from listeners requesting more children’s content, Nauruan culture, local news and events reporting, with many calls asking if hospital patients can call in or text song requests.
Ms Jeremiah, a 30 year veteran announcer on Radio Nauru recalls when the station aired local news, as well as a 30 minute children’s education show daily.
“We are thinking about bringing back the children’s programs,” she said.
According to UN Secretary General António Guterres, radio brings communities together, promotes peace and inclusiveness, and was, in fact, ahead of its time as it “pioneered interaction with audiences and user-generated content decades before they became mainstream”.
“We have that program, Samvic and Friends every day.
“Anyone who wants to come in to have a chat with Samvic on whatever they want to talk about – it’s an open house.
“We need to bring back everything that was good before. We know that people are listening to the radio,” Ms Jeremiah said, acknowledging that the latest hourly Digicel radio promotion has dramatically increased Radio Nauru’s listener base.
“We had the FM105 song competition promoting local talent. We want to do it this year,” Sera said.
She has extended an invitation to staff at the Language Bureau, Home Affairs, to speak on the radio for two 10 minute segments per week.
The date of World Radio Day coincides with the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946, but it was not until 2013 that the UN General Assembly formally endorsed UNESCO’s proclamation of the day.
According to UNESCO, radio is “a platform for democratic discourse” and remains the world’s “most widely consumed medium” that is both low-cost and accessible to remote communities and the most vulnerable of the world’s people, breaking educational barriers and playing a crucial role in emergency communication and disaster relief.
You can call or SMS Radio Nauru on 557 3491 and tune in at FM105.1 or online at www.radionauru.nr:8000/live