In some of the most remote areas of the world, where physical access can be difficult, radio reaches people of all ages, spreading information and messaging that can change lives. In urban areas, where television or internet access may be expensive or unavailable, people crowd around radios, listening to and discussing shows they tune into weekly or daily. Increasingly, people all around the world use their mobiles to engage with radio programs, interacting with their favorite shows and radio personalities.
Radio is a powerful medium – engaging, informative, and reaching a wide audience around the world. Radio can bring people together, reach large audiences and individuals, start conversations and encourage communication, and spread information and knowledge. For all of these reasons, radio is an essential tool in social and behavior change. Strategic radio content informs and empowers people so that they are able to make the best and healthiest decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities.
The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) has thirty years of experience creating strategic radio content to further global health. Their work has included dramas about HIV in Tanzania, interactive reality programming in Malawi, call-in radio programs combating malnutrition in Nepal, and songs promoting family planning in Nigeria.
This World Radio Day, to celebrate and further radio’s use for global health, CCP is hosting a Tweet Chat about radio’s role in social and behavior change. This chat will offer an opportunity for individuals and organizations around the world to discuss, in real-time, their radio-related experience in promoting social and behavior change, as well as to come together to share knowledge and resources about radio and development.
.@JohnsHopkinsCCP invites you to join our #WRDChat on Mon, Feb 13 at 10am ET. Read more on the #WorldRadioDay site:https://t.co/w90THW9koc pic.twitter.com/i0FqaHF7TY
— Johns Hopkins CCP (@JohnsHopkinsCCP) February 10, 2017
How to be involved
Starting at 10am ET (3pm UTC) and running for an hour, CCP’s Twitter account, @JohnsHopkinsCCP, will post six discussion questions, using the #WRDChat hashtag. These questions – and people’s replies and answers to them – will kick off a live, real-time conversation open to any Twitter account. All questions, replies, and discussion should use the hashtag #WRDChat, so that others can follow along and participate.
To join in and have your voices heard on February 13th, at 10am ET (3pm UTC) – follow @JohnsHopkinsCCP and make sure your tweets include the #WRDChat hashtag. Answer questions, reply with your thoughts or experiences, or share links you think others might find helpful. Most importantly, connect with people around the world and contribute your thoughts and opinions.
Radio is a democratizing force – open to everyone – and this World Radio Day chat hopes to involve voices from around the world. Come share your experiences and learn from others. Whether you’re a radio producer, health or development professional, or simply a fan of either, you are invited to bring your experiences and opinions to CCP’s World Radio Day Tweet Chat.
Visit the event page.
