Radio Canada International -
60 Years of Radio Worldwide
On February 25, 2005, Radio Canada International will be
celebrating its 60th anniversary. RCI's history is one
of remarkable successes and rich anecdotes. It's a history worth discovering...
and rediscovering.
Did you know that Radio Canada International has attracted
some of the leading lights in Canadian journalism over the
years, including future Quebec premier René Lévesque and
legendary CBC host Peter Gzowski?
Some might recall that Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King
set up a shortwave service during the Second World War to inform and entertain
our troops overseas with programming from Canada. But few people are aware
that RCI also played a key role in promoting Canadian music. After making
its debut on the international scene in 1945, RCI quickly became an ambassador
for homegrown artists. Many famous names in Canadian music, including
Oscar Peterson and Glenn Gould, made some of their first recordings in
RCI studios.
RCI Today
• RCI produces programming in nine languages.
- More than 300 hours of programming are broadcast each week via shortwave,
satellite and www.RCInet.ca.
• RCI programs are rebroadcast in over 75 countries through its
300 partner stations.
• RCI airs special programming for listeners in Florida and the
Caribbean, featuring the best of CBC Radio One and Radio-Canada's Première
Chaîne.
• Listeners from all over the world participate in RCI phone-in
shows.
• RCI broadcasts language courses for the whole family.
• The daily Cyberjournal provides a roundup of the key news stories.
• RCI oversees the Canadian Institute for Training in Public
Broadcasting, which offers radio, television and new-media training to
journalists, managers and technicians in emerging democracies.
• Internet users can listen to live and archived programs in nine
languages at www.RCInet.ca
and explore a brand-new databank containing over 20,000 links pointing
to nearly 200 countries.
A Special 60th Anniversary Contest for 18 - to 30-Year-olds Who Want
to Build a Better World...
International Development Week (January 30 to February 5) and the UN-sponsored
International Year of Microcredit 2005 will be marked in an original way
by Développement international Desjardins (DID) and Radio Canada
International... the two have teamed up to launch Building the Future
Now!, a major worldwide contest for 18- to 30-year-olds.
What can we do in 2005 to build a fairer, more prosperous, more equitable
world? Young people around the world will be challenged to answer this
ambitious question in a short essay or illustration, giving them a chance
to win one of two international development education missions organized
by DID in partnership with the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA). Prizes are valued at $15,000, and contestants can enter by visiting
www.RCInet.ca.
RCI has also produced a series of short radio features, consisting of
two-to three-minute interviews with young adults whose lives have benefitedfrom
microcredit. They hail from Africa, Latin America and Asia, and can beheard
on RCI's international airwaves throughout the year.
Relive the best of RCI on CD and on the Web...
We also invite you to visit a special 60th anniversary section of the
RCI website, jointly produced by the CBC Archives team and RCI staff.
It contains a wealth of radio and TV clips-with different selections in
English and French-
that look back at the landmark events of the past 60 years on RCI. Judith
Jasmin, Maurice Chevalier and René Lévesque are just a few
of the stars of yesteryear you'll be able to see and hear again. Be sure
not to miss this fascinating walk down memory lane at www.RCInet.ca
and
www.radio-canada.ca/archives.
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