Radio 68H Post-Tsunami Campaign

Radio 68H gathers and disseminates news throughout the 17,000 islands of Indonesia, using low-cost satellite and internet technologies to reach 400 local radio stations and 20 million listeners. The post-tsunami campaign involves using radio to inform people about the devastation caused by the natural disaster (and continuing recovery efforts), as well as to promote and inspire participation through funding.

The station has undertaken both short- and long-term action to facilitate continued information provision via radio since the tsunami. Immediately after the disaster, 68H sent correspondents from Jakarta to Aceh to provide back up to radio journalists who had survived. On a longer-term basis, the station found new ways to provide interactive, informative services by:

• asking that listeners in areas cut off by the tsunami who were able to do so phone the station to provide news from where they lived
• encouraging listeners outside Aceh who were looking for loved ones or those in Aceh wanting to send a message to relatives elsewhere to send text messages to the station that were then read out on air
• refocusing most of its national programming to news and features on Aceh to allow listeners all over the country to get up-to-date information on developments
• setting up a daily news service for and about Aceh. Correspondents in the province send news reports to 68H for editing into a daily half-hour programme that is sent by satellite to 17 partner stations in Aceh. Listeners may participate by using a toll-free phone number to talk directly to guest speakers on a variety of issues related to post-tsunami Aceh
• producing a health talkshow, Menuju Aceh Sehat, and a story telling programme for children, Dunia Dongeng
• distributing approximately 50,000 radio sets to those displaced by the tsunami.

Radio 68H has been working to rebuild radio stations that were destroyed in the disaster. The stations rebuilt to date include two in Banda Aceh (Prima FM and Muhamadiyah), one in Sigli (Megaphone FM), and two in Meulaboh. The latter two stations include Radio Muhamadiyah, a new community radio station, and Dalka FM, whose programmes are designed to raise the spirits of its listeners and become a clearing house for discussion of topical issues as well as for dialogue about the plans for rebuilding Meulaboh. In addition, the agency established a station (Pro Radio) on the island of Sabang off the northern tip of Aceh, where there is almost no access to information. Sabang was expected to play an important role in recovery, as its port is the only significant port close to Banda Aceh.

Capacity building for local radio stations, carried out through a series of in-person workshops and trainings, is another strategy for rehabilitating Aceh's media. Radio 68H organised the 3-day "All Aceh Radio Management Workshop" for 34 radio station managers and owners, representing 25 radio stations currently on air and another 6 stations in the process of being established. Participants discussed a range of management and marketing issues with international and domestic experts. In addition to this 2-year training effort, Radio 68H provides ongoing in-house management, technical and editorial training for Aceh radio stations.

The station is also drawing on donations from listeners to build fresh water wells in Banda Aceh. Radio was used as a tool to facilitate the "We Care for Aceh" appeal, which raised more than US$12,500. As of June 2005, a total of 100 wells were built in Banda Aceh (exceeding their goal of 20), providing more than 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) with access to clean water. 68H plans to conduct a similar programme in the town of Meulaboh. To facilitate these and other efforts, the Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF) is hosting a donations website to support these efforts. In short, information and communication technology (ICT) is used as a tool to stimulate overseas development assistance for media regeneration in the face of disaster - on the part of individuals around the world.

Emergency, Health, Media Development.

Radio 68H was named as one of six finalists from a field of 135 nominations for the Development Gateway Award 2005. In March 2005, the Aceh Arts Council presented the with the Tsunami Award for its contribution to the rehabilitation of radio stations in Aceh and its up-to-date reporting on developments in the province following the tsunami.

MDLF is a non-profit investment fund for independent media in emerging democracies. "Through low-cost capital, in-depth training and long-term assistance, it helps news outlets committed to responsible journalism strengthen their operations and become commercially sustainable."