Women on the Global Community Airwaves - Podcast Series

"In many realities, women's voices are among those least heard and women are often not being respected with equal access to their human rights."

This podcast series introduces a selection of women from around the world who are at the forefront of using community radio to highlight women's voices and stories. Covering community radio in Mexico City, Fiji, Philippines, Zimbabwe, and Poland, each episode documents one woman's story and experience with community media as platforms and channels for empowering women and increasing their role in society. These five episodes were launched on March 8 2023, International Women's Day, and will be followed by a new episode, a new story, every week.

As explained by the producer of the podcast series, Birgitte Jallov, "Impact assessments of community media on different continents and in different realities have shown that when community media break the silence, unhealthy traditions change. It takes some time, but it happens. One of the most prominent impacts I have found when working in communities everywhere is, that violence against women and children has decreased, and that women have begun to have a more active, visible and respected role in the community."

Each episode is about 30 minutes long and is in an interview format, with Jallov as the interviewer. The podcasts explore the backgrounds of the women and the stations they work for, looking at why they got into broadcasting, why they chose to use radio as a platform to highlight women's stories and women's voices, and what this had meant for the broadcasters themselves, as well as their audiences.

"One Woman" is UN Women's anthem, which EMPOWERHOUSE has been licensed to use as the theme song for the podcast series. Jallov writes on her website: "In 2013, 25 acclaimed singers and musicians, women and men, from China to Costa Rica, from Mali to Malaysia, came together to spread a message of unity and solidarity: We are 'One Woman'. Launched on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2013, the song is a rallying cry that inspires listeners to join the drive for women’s rights and gender equality."

The podcasts included in the opening launch are as follows:

1. "Welcome to Women on the Global Community Airwaves" - In this podcast, Jallov explains a bit about her work supporting community radio across the world and what led her to produce these podcasts. She offers a general overview of the content of the podcasts and the importance of having women's voices on the airwaves. Click here for more information and to access the podcast.
2. "Maru Chavez - Radio Violeta, Mexico" - Radio Violeta went on air in 2019 as a feminist community radio station in Mexico City. With around 150,000 listeners, Radio Violeta consciously challenges the traditional ways of the media and seeks to transform communication by highlighting real women's voices and covering issues of importance in women's lives. Click here for more information and to access the podcast.
3. "Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, Co-Founder, Femlink Pacific" - Bhagwan-Rolls has for more than 20 years worked to empower women - young women, rural women, women living with disabilities, and women in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) community - by engaging them in the media. She is a second-generation Fiji Island feminist working on the intersection of gender, media, communications, and peace by supporting the development and production of appropriate and accessible media. Following a career in mainstream broadcasting, she co-founded FemLINKpacific in 2000. This initiative became the basis for the development of a feminist media network that included a women-led community radio network and the Women's Weather Watch information-communication system. Click here for more information and to access the podcast.
4. "Gwendolyn Gay L. Gaongen - Radyo Sagada, Philippines" - Gaongen is the station manager of Radyo Sagada, which is an indigenous peoples' radio located in the mountain province, the Condillera, in the north of the main Luzon Island, the Philippines. The objective of the station is to ensure dialogue and debate among the communities of the area in support of development. Women have had an important role in the station from the onset and have also been prioritised on the board of the station. In the podcast, Gaongen explains how the station has progressed since it was established. She also talks about the threats to journalists and media in the Philippines, including the red-tagging (malicious blacklisting) of Radyo Sagada by those in power. Click here for more information and to access the podcast.
5. "Siphathisiwe Ncube - Ntepe-Manama Community Radio, Zimbabwe" - Ncube has worked with Ntepe-Manama Community Radio based in Gwanda, Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe, for 10 years. Since 2013, the community has been organising, training, and advocating for access to broadcasting licenses. The station finally got its licence in 2022. During the almost 10-year period prior to this, the community accessed news and information via Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter. As Ncube explains in the interview, the station is based in the deep rural area of Matabeleland South, where there used to be no or very little reliable local information, and where people had difficulty getting other news as well. The Ntepe Manama Community Radio has filled this gap and now has more than 20.000 active listeners. Click here for more information and to access the podcast.
6. "Karolina Rogóz-Namiotka - Radio UWM, Olsztyn, Poland" - Karolina Rogóz-Namiotko is the creator and presenter of "Lejdi Gada - Women at the Microphone". It is a programme broadcast on student radio UWM FM in Olsztyn (Poland) featuring women who find fulfilment in life through their passion and work. The guests on the show are female soldiers, psychologists, priests, cooks, dressmakers, entrepreneurs, presidents, mothers, etc. Rogóz-Namiotka believes that a woman who acts with passion and commitment is able to inspire more women to change for the better. It is a programme about self-development, self-acceptance, and self-esteem. Click here for more information and to access the podcast.