Introduction
The Africa Labour Radio Project aims to establish a labour media network involving 10 Anglophone African countries, namely South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The network's primary purpose initially will be to produce and broadcast weekly or fortnightly labour radio shows on community and/or public radio stations in each of the participating countries and via the Internet. These labour radio shows will focus on a wide range of issues that are relevant to the overwhelming majority of Africans from a labour or working class perspective. The programme topics will be decided, produced and edited by representatives of the labour movement in participating countries and partner organizations.
The project seeks to strengthen the response of the African labour movement and civil society to socio-economic and political challenges that confront it, through a media intervention in the form of participatory regional radio productions and broadcasts.
It is based on the recognition that there are numerous organisational and other weaknesses that undermine the African labour movementʼs ability to meet the challenges of the day, not least of which is their media capacity.
Background
Prior to launching of the pilot project and since 2003, during WWMPʼs engagements with trade union representatives from other African countries, upon learning about its work in South Africa, expressed a need and desire for support in labour media development in their countries. Since then WWMP has had several internal discussions, including consultations with the South African labour movement about solidarity support for African trade unions in the area of labour media. Similarly, several consultations were held with participating organisations, the trade union leadership of the countries targeted, including in the form of a brief questionnaire survey (June 2005), a 1-hour session at a meeting held in Durban during November 2005 and a full meeting with most organisations present on 8 April 2006 in Cape Town.
Objectives:
1) Developing radio broadcasting skills and labour media capacity for participating trade unions and countries. Increased capacity of designated trade union representatives to develop as specialised labour radio broadcasters through radio training and production support.
2) Labour media skills development. Increased capacity of country trade union representatives and their organisations to participate in mainstream media.
3) To develop and sustain quality weekly labour shows in the form of:
3.1. Country-based informative and educational programmes relevant to workers and the working class on selected commercial, public and community radio stations at specific times and;
3.2. An Africa-wide weekly 30 minute labour show broadcast via the appropriate radio channel/s and the Internet.
3.3) Increased Africa-wide collective organisational and labour media capacity, communication and partnership between the African continent-wide labour movement and consequently greater international labour solidarity at leadership and grassroots levels.
3.4) Greater organising skills and organisational outreach by participating trade unions to their members and ordinary workers, thereby enhancing their knowledge and democratic participation in their trade unions and the political life of their countries.
