School of Oriental and African Studies

Extract from my columns in Radio User May 2015

I attended a UNESCO World Radio Day event on 13 February at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) at the University of London. It was an interesting occasion and one of many taking place all over the world. I recommend you put the date in your diary for next year. At SOAS there were seminars and a trade fair showcasing the latest research and innovations in the field of radio and development communication and, as you would hope, coverage from a great radio station, in this case the in-house SOAS Radio. SOAS Radio has been on air for a decade now, providing education and training to its students, many of whom have gone on to pursue careers in media.

This year’s World Radio Day theme was youth and radio and there were four presentations at SOAS from academics and professionals working in the field of radio in Africa: Kevin Perkins of Farm Radio International which is a Canadian non-profit organisation which for 35 years has working in partnership with more than 500 radio partners across Africa to fight poverty and food insecurity. Dr Sharath Srinivasan from Cambridge University, Will Snell of Development Media International and Daniel Bruce from Internews Europe.

See http://soasradio.org/ for regular podcasts from the station including their World Radio Day output. Elsewhere, Vatican Radio and Radio Romania International were among shortwave stations taking part in the day and audio can be found at many places online including https://soundcloud.com/world-radio-day