International organization to publish peacebuilding guide
for youth radio

A new guidebook to be released in January is aimed at helping African radio stations – the continent’s most influential medium – encourage peace through the use of youth programmes.

The guidebook is a publication of the Radio for Peacebuilding Africa (RFPA) program, organized by the US-based NGO Search for Common Ground.
The program also has included surveys of radio journalists, training workshops, and training materials for radio staff and media schools in Africa.

This latest guidebook focuses on youth radio and its potential to prevent conflict through reporting. The ideas came from a training session that took place in early September 2005, with youth presenters and producers from 12 Sub-Saharan countries. The guide will make several recommendations to build peace through youth radio. These include using on-air role-playing to elicit solutions, and making programs fun for young people and encouraging their participation.

The guidebook also recommends that young producers work to understand all of the elements of a particular conflict before reporting on it. RFPA released a guidebook on the same topic for radio talk shows in November.

More information at Radio for PeaceBuilding Africa.

Source: Media Network