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t
itself. Just a few months after the
production started, more than 100
local heroes have been portrayed –
ready to inspire other youngsters
among DW's almost 50 million
weekly users from Africa – most of
them radio listeners.
AFGHANISTANNEEDS RADIO
Meanwhile in Afghanistan, DW
distributes content in Dari and
Pashto via the Internet and social
media, but also puts a strong focus
on radio broadcasts. Despite all
efforts in education, a considerable
number of Afghans still aren't able
to read and write, among them also
political, social and military leaders
as well as personalities with a
notable impact on public opinion,
e.g. "elders", tribal and communal
leaders. This important target
group for radio dwells
predominantly in regional sub
centers and in the countryside.
Furthermore, in this social
environment, women are still often
excluded from even basic education
and many of them are not allowed
to leave their homes. For them,
radio is often the only way to
gather information. TV use is
rising, but TV cannot be used in the
frequent periods of electricity
outages. In these times only
battery-powered radios are a
reliable alternative.
DW's radio programmes target
social groups with low educational
background as well as listeners
with high educational background
and a deep understanding of
domestic and international affairs,
who see in DW an alternative
source of information and opinion
to other TV and radio stations in
the country.
LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS
The daily one-hour radio
programming in Dari and Pashto,
the two official languages in
Afghanistan, is broadcast in the
local prime time (18.00-19.00 Kabul
time) via short wave, FM partners
and via rented frequencies on an
FM transmitter in the capital.
Therefore, the programmes are
widely known in the country.
24 correspondents all over
Afghanistan contribute to the
quality of the programmes with
their expertise in their respective
areas of reporting. Sound bites,
contacts and quotes provided by
correspondents from even remote
areas are a valuable contribution to
the coverage on Afghanistan also in
DW's German- and English-
language programming.
The FM partners of DW in
Afghanistan include nationwide
operating broadcasters like Ariana
and Arakozia as well as 16 regional
FM partners rebroadcasting the
educational series
Learning by Ear
.
Learning by Ear
deals with social
problems occurring in Afghanistan,
like violence in families, forced
marriages, etc. Furthermore, news
bulletins of three to five minutes
duration are produced by DW in
Dari und Pashto and broadcast by
Ariana FM and regional Pashto FM
stations in the eastern Afghanistan
province of Nangahar bordering
Pakistan, an area under increasing
threat from so-called IS and
affiliated groups. These stations
broadcast the news bulletins in
their regular news programme.
DW's radio programming for
Afghanistan – 30 minutes in each
language – includes news,
interviews and reports on current
affairs plus a daily radio magazine
tackling issues from culture, science
and environment, sports to social
affairs, women and there’s an
important magazine focusing on
reconstruction.
The latter has a tangible impact
on the communities. The
reconstruction magazine presents
development achievements on both
local and regional levels and portraits
of
Local Heroes
, personalities who
strive to improve the situation in
their communities but are rarely
noticed or portrayed by the media.
n
DW Heromobile
searching for
stories on the
streets of Accra
DW’s
Crime
Fighters
series is
popular
throughout Africa
DW prog-
rammes
tackle
social
problems
as well as
delivering
reliable
news
“
”
AFRICA & AFGHANISTAN
|
THE BUSINESS OF RADIO
CELEBRATING RADIO
|
WORLD RADIO DAY 2016
|
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