By Ekellem Desmond in Yaounde
A
Cameroonian communication outfit, known as Change
Communications (Change Comms) has launched a national competition for the
award of prizes in kind and cash to community radio stations which in program
contents and programming policy qualify as exemplary in the promotion of
democratic values in rural communities across the country. The competition is
organized as part of activities in the implementation of a project based on
using community radio to promote democratic values and practices at the grass
roots level in Cameroon.
The
two year project – Developing Democratic
Culture Using Radio in Rural Cameroon, started in February 2013 and is
expected to end in January 2015. The implementation is by Change Communications
in partnership with the United Nations Democracy Fund, (UNDEF) in New York.
According
to a release from the Change
Communications office in Yaoundé, community radio stations from all the ten
administrative regions of the country which have been working with Change Communications as partners in the
project since February 2013 have until 15 October 2014 to submit their entries
for the competition. The release indicates that submissions will be assessed on
quantitative and qualitative criteria.
By quantitative criteria, competing radio
stations are expected to have produced a total of at least 16 democracy-promotion
programs (interactive programs, roundtable discussions, radio drama, panel
discussions and debates produced and broadcast from June 2013 to October 2014). The number of programs produced on
issues connected to indigenous people, (Baka/Pygmies and Mbororos where
applicable) and marginalized groups such as women and the youths will also be
considered. The number of radio program-genres/formats used is part of the
package of criteria to be examined by a jury of between 3 to 5 members in each
administrative region of the country.
Meantime, the professional or qualitative
criteria will include the relevance of the topics to the promotion of
democratic values, respect of professional norms/techniques in the production
of programs, capacity of the journalist in the presentation of the programs,
sound quality of programs produced, the profiles of the guests on the program.
Each submitting radio station is equally expected to state in a maximum of
three paragraphs, a plan on how the radio station intends to continue to
produce and broadcast programs that promote democratic values after the life
cycle of the UNDEF-Change Communications Project.
According to the coordinator of Change Communications, CRTV’s Shifu
Ngalla, close to seventy community radio stations from across the country are
expected to take part in the competition. Submissions are to be deposited with
focal persons in the towns of Maroua, Ngaoundere, Bertoua, Mbalmayo, Bafoussam
and Bamenda.
The deadline for the submissions of entries has
been billed for October ending this year. “A list of ten winners will be
published by the first week of November 15, 2014. Winners will take home prizes
in cash plus a testimonial,” Shifu disclosed.
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