Last year R4D received an email from Godspower Oboido, who’d visited the website and wanted to get in touch regarding an exciting new initiative he had started in Nigeria. Godspower is, in his own words, “on a mission to get rural communities across Africa listening to radio” – and he founded the “Listen Africa” project “to radically encourage radio for change”. Luckily Godspower was visiting the UK long enough for a meeting at Birmingham City University, where the clip below was recorded.
In the video he discusses the plans of “Listen Africa” to create various educational radio programmes which reflect the curriculum of the Nigerian Ministry of Education. In 2013, Listen Africa intends to set up listeners clubs in Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia – “giving listeners the opportunity to voice their opinions in the broadcasting of issues that has a direct impact on them”.
According to the Listen Africa website;
“Listen Africa is an initiative that hopes to educate [rural] communities in the African continent with its radio approach. We hope to achieve this by donating shortwave, solar powered and wind up radios to individuals (market women, fishermen, herdsmen, students, etc) thus getting information across to them. We want to get everyone in rural Africa listening to radio. Education (information) is the key to African development, Listen Africa is keying in as a bridge initiative to connect every community in Africa to the world through the radio wave and eventually connecting the world to Africa.”
“We don’t just want to get people listening to radio, we want to engage them, we want to get them involved so we have set up the Listeners Club Initiative. Whether it is under a mango tree or in a primary school class we will organise people in local communities to be involved in the Listeners Club. They will not only listen to the radio to know what is happening around them and around the world, but they will also take part in it by discussing and deliberating on the issues reported on radio.”
“The listening clubs will be their opportunity to share their views on development and various topical issues ranging from climate change to HIV/AIDS and health, agriculture, economy and environment, politics and society. For example in each club, we would ask ‘What is climate change and how does it affect you? Should you bother?’”
Find out more about this innovative project by visiting the “Listen Africa” website at;
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