Audio for social change

[London Link Radio]

Hi all
I'm new to this network - it's really good.

Is anyone else using new media - especially audio - for social change? (And community cohesion, citizen empowerment etc etc)

London Link Radio runs an annual online radio project Refugee Week Radio (http://www.refugeeweekradio.net ) linked to the official Refugee Week in June (see http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk )

Best wishes
Cathy at London Lnk Radio

[Tim from Radio Clash]

Citizen Reporter http://citizenreporter.org/ - Bicyclemark knows his stuff. There's also Democracy Now! in the States but they are broadcasters, if not exactly 'big' media, they do podcast and use new media.

Oh and how could I forget there is John Buckley's Dissident Vox http://www.dissidentvox.com/ although it seems a bit quiet - is he still doing them? I hope so...

Be interested if there are more community/advocacy groups using podcasting and video. There are a bunch of schools I think that are...

[London Link Radio]

Thanks Tim, I didn't know those examples before.

There are quite a few schools publishing audio on Radiowaves and Radioanywhere (http://www.radiowaves.co.uk and http://www.radioanywhere.co.uk )

[Podcastmatters]

We personally produce the AICR podcast which addresses issues surrounding the treatment of cancer, although that's not quite in the social change mold.

Can you post up some audio examples of the stuff you're producing? It may inspire others to follow suit and produce audio for social change!

[London Link Radio]

Yes, will do - soon....

These are the main principles which we use (as do all community radio stations, I guess):
- people are invited to give their opinions or express their creativity - this could be regularly or as a one-off project
- people are given the tools for doing so (or assisted with using the tools)
- the resulting opinions and/or creative items are published on a platform where they can be read/heard/noticed.

A couple of good examples of groups doing this in the UK are:
- Tees Valley Community Media (http://www.tvcm.co.uk/ ) - they use all kinds of new media including audio/podcasts. The main site is a portal for different parts of the community - see for example Saltburn Digital Village ( http://www.saltburn.org.uk/ )

- Camden Community Radio in London (http://www.ccradio.org ) This group operate almost entirely as 'audio on demand', apart from when they have guest shows, eg. on Open Air (at SOAS, University of London - http://www.openair.fm - look for their programme 'Camden Unlocked'. CCRadio are based in an area of great change (St Pancras International, plans for Kings Cross regeneration etc) so residents need to make their views known.

[London Link Radio]

Here's an example of using audio for social change:

Radio 1812 is a global online and local radio broadcast for International Migrants Day, which is on December 18th each year. The project is run by the NGO December 18
See also the Radio 1812 project website

All over the world, radio stations and websites will broadcast and publish material by and/or relevant to migrants and migrant support organisations.

London Link Radio will be taking part - see our project website here. We've also set up a network inspired by this network - do join if you'd like to cross-promote and support us - contribute some audio or get your local radio station to do so.

How does it help social change? There's already a strong network of community radio stations across the country, so the more we all network, share and publicise, the more people can exchange ideas.

Topics for social change can include community relations, tackling crime, protecting the environment, health and education, as well as giving a voice to people who feel marginalised.

This probably all sounds very worthy - but it's not, when you listen to some of the stories that people tell. Because video is easier and more accessible (see another discussion thread), people often need help from outside when they start doing radio/audio, but it's very powerful once they get going.