The Community radio
movement was initiated in Bangladesh in 1998. History says that two
simultaneous activities initiated the community radio movement in the country.
One is the establishment of Bangladesh NGOs’ Network for Radio and
Communication (BNNRC) and the other is the submission of proposal to establish
a community radio in Patuakhali district by Mass Line Media Centre (MMC).
The aims of the
community radio as stated in the application submitted by MMC to the Government
of Bangladesh was “to bridge the gap between people and the policy makers,
create an interactive environment of communication, serve as a platform for
debate, exchange of ideas and reactions to plans and projects, preserve
cultural identity, enhance emancipation and self-worth and uses as the voice of
the voiceless, the mouthpiece of the oppressed and as a tool of development”.
Considering the merits of community radio in remote areas, MMC got numerous
supports from media people and experts. In the same time, after
participating a training program on Development Management in New Delhi, India
Mr. A H M Bazlur Rahman of BNNRC designed an advocacy plan for community radio
and published a handbook where he described the differences between three tier
broadcasting system. Various national and
international organisations extended their hands to the movement.
Intergovernmental organisations like UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, CEMCA assisted the
movement towards a policy on community radio in Bangladesh. The Government of
Bangladesh finally approved Community Radio Policy in May 2008. The policy was
formulated with the participation of six high-level government officials from
the Ministry of Information and two civil society organizations, Mass-line Media
Centre (MMC) and Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC).
Now 14 community
radio stations are airing programmes for their communities and it is indeed
good news that another 18 radio stations will be functional very soon. Lokobetar
can be considered as the first community radio station in Bangladesh.For details, please read the book: Invisible Waves, Visible Changes; Edited by Ankuran Dutta, Mohammad Sahid Ullah, ARMT South Asia Publications- https://www.armt.in/publications
Cite this article as-
APA
Dutta, A. (2014, December 30). Community Radio in Bangladesh. Community Communications. https://www.comcomm.org/2014/12/community-radio-in-bangladesh.html
MLA
Dutta, Ankuran. "Community Radio in Bangladesh." Community Communications, 30 Dec. 2014, www.comcomm.org/2014/12/community-radio-in-bangladesh.html. Accessed ............
