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Pakistan in recent times has been afflicted by violence and various conflicts at the national, provincial and district levels. At the same time, media in Pakistan has also emerged as a key success story and major stakeholder in peace building by alleviating misconceptions, shaping mindsets positively and molding public opinion to emphasize harmony in society. By acting responsibly and ethically and highlighting the human costs of conflict, the media not only promotes collaborative approaches to conflict mitigation but also empowers the local communities to be proactive actors of peace.
Print media in Pakistan has been active for several decades while TV media has only recently become a major national player with a high profile as both an information as well as entertainment source. The FM radio phenomenon has also been growing in Pakistan in the last few years but its public profile is not currently recognized as being as effective as TV and print despite its major success as the pluralistic voice of local communities – a role in which print and TV probably cannot thrive as much as radio can.
It is in this context that a major national initiative is being launched to raise the profile of FM radio in Pakistan . This initiative is being launched by Search For Common Ground ( http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/pakistan/programmes_pakistan.html ), an international organization that promotes and facilitates collaborative approaches to peace and development, in partnership with Pakistani organizations Intermedia ( intermedia.org.pk ), a media support organization that focuses on advocacy, research and training on media issues, and Uks Research Centre ( www.uksresearch.com ), a research and resource center working to promote gender equality and women's profile in media.
This initiative is principally aimed at building the capacity of FM stations in Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Azad Jammu & Kashmir to empower them to use dialogue as a way of addressing local issues and to promote peace in their respective communities.
The initiative also aims to offer a major platform for the FM radio stations across Pakistan to highlight their important role in building peaceful and prosperous local communities. The platform will offer an opportunity for the radio stations for a dialogue amongst themselves; share experiences and success stories with each other and build their technical capacities .
The initiative will include a series of events and opportunities for Pakistan's radio sector , starting with a National Summit of FM Radio Stations in Islamabad to be participated by owners/directors of about 60 active FM radio stations of the country . To be managed under the project by Intermedia, this will be the largest gathering of radio stations in Pakistan's history and aim to create consensus on improving professional standards and developing thematic expertise in the country's dynamic and burgeoning community radio sector.
Applications of interest from FM radio stations in Pakistan that already produce current affairs programs are invited to be part of this national initiative. They need to confirm that they want to be represented in the National Summit of FM Radio Stations to be held in Islamabad on June 19, 2010 (Saturday).
As part of this national initiative, we are seeking to initially establish a partnership of about 60 FM radio stations from across Pakistan who should essentially be committed to community service, current affairs and be willing to produce quality model programming on community issues centered on the themes of promoting peace within their broadcast regions; and who are willing to sign MoUs to this effect and become partners in this initiative .
This project will offer an opportunity for Pakistani FM radio stations to:
- Become sectoral policy pioneers on raising the profile of FM radio industry in Pakistan;
- Become part of a national alliance of radio stations that become a voice for peace in their communities;
- Become part of a dedicated new web portal that will offer a global audience to the stations' programs and messages, including audiences and advertisers;
- Receive international-level, multiple-stage training for stations staff and producers on producing thematic programming;
- Receive coaching on improving technical quality of radio programming focusing on conflict-related community;
- Become eligible for cash prizes for establishing local leadership credentials on promoting peace through community engagement via creative programming
This initiative is not a commercial venture – it will cost the participating stations nothing but provide access for them to world standard methodologies, best practices, success stories and technical resources on raising professional standards, becoming sector leaders, improving community profiles of the stations .
Intermedia will cover the return travel and accommodation in Islamabad for one night for the participants of the National Summit of FM Radio Stations coming from outside Islamabad. A schedule for the conference as well as other details will be announced shortly. Only the owner of the radio station or director/manager of the station and one person per station is invited. Mr Wajih Akhtar, the Intermedia Program Manager, can be contacted for logistics arrangements after receiving a confirmation of your participation. Please fill up the online form by clicking the link below and submit online.
Online form
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