It was all joy for 18 staff members of the Mafeteng Community Radio (MCR) after they received training from the Media Institute of Southern Africa – Lesotho Chapter (MISA Lesotho), with support of the Lesotho National Commission for UNESCO (UNESCOM), in highlight of the World Radio Day in the district yesterday (February 13).
The staffers, mostly volunteering presenters, cheered and appreciated a partnership of MISA Lesotho and UNESCOM for equipping them with radio skills “and making us feel relevant and important again as we were almost lost in the way,” according to the MCR Programmes Director Poosela Pule.
Mr Pule said: “We feel honoured to have been prioritised by MISA Lesotho and UNESCOM for this training. We are short of words because this training has been so fruitful to us. It has really been an eye-opener for many of us at MCR”.
Mr Pule, who has been working for MCR since the radio started operations in 2012, said they had since felt lost and doubted they were doing their work following the right direction, “but with this training, we feel overjoyed and proud.”
Most of the MCR staff a young people who expressed their contentment adding, with the type of training they had just undergone, they felt they had a bright future on radio.
Among others, the MCR staff was trained on basic principles in news gathering and reporting, media ethics, reporting for radio and content for community radio by trainers, Buda Moseme, Nkoale Oetsi Tšoana, Palesa Maharasoa and Boitumelo Koloi.
Speaking for UNESCOM, the commission’s Programme Coordinator – Culture ’Matsoona Sekokotoana noted significance the World Radio Day, narrating how it was proclaimed by member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2011 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.
“It has since been celebrated every year, and this year we are celebrating the ninth edition under the theme: Diversity in Radio,” Ms Sekokotoana noted.
She went on to pass the message of the UNESCO Director General Ms Audrey Azoulay from Paris, France, for the World Radio Day, quoting: On this World (Radio) Day, we celebrate the power of radio to reflect and promote diversity in all its forms. Everyone can feel at home in “voice land”, as Walter Benjamin called the radio in his writings for the radio.”
The diversity of broadcasting channels, Ms Sekokotoana quoted was matched by the diversity of content and programmes produced, and the plurality of opinions, cultural expressions and sensitivities expressed.
Chairperson of MISA Lesotho, Mr Koloi, indicated how the organisation was dedicated to professionalising the radio industry in Lesotho.
