 |
2002/03 development
of Zimbabwe as documented in RBO's Archive |
|
| That is what RBO did — between 1993 and 2000 — before the situation in Zimbabwe forced a freeze on all operations |
For the first time a global & regular access was
provided to: Voices
from Africa
| > authentic | > unfiltered | > exciting |
RBO’s audio-magazines were offered for subscription
in English & German versions
thereby providing access to the continent with stories
beyond the headlines for:
| > Radio Networks | > College Libraries | ||||||||||
| > Africa concerned NGOs or Companies | > Private Collectors |
Each audio-cassette contained programme modules in which
African journalists addressed issues of culture, gender,
development and politics, from their own perspective.
The Radio Bridge
Overseas Trust
was a non-governmental, non-profit media organisation
based in Harare, Zimbabwe. RBO was the medium through
which a South-North, South-South dialogue had begun to be
achieved, with RBO acting as the "bridge"
between various cultures of the two hemispheres.
RBO’s programmes offered more than a look at the
day’s headlines. They furnished a mixture of serious
and light-hearted reflections on and about Africa and its
people. They also provided a context and so deepend the
audience’s understanding of Southern societies,
empowering these cultures to express themselves.
Since its inception in 1993, RBO has received a great
deal of national and international attention. At the 1994
"National Journalistic and Media Awards",
hosted by REUTERS Zimbabwe, RBO received the First Prize
in the category of "Radio Producer - Information
& Education". RBO added the "1994 Global
Award for Media Excellence" as "Best Radio
Programme" of that year to its growing list of
recommendations. In 1996, RBO was selected to send one of
its storytellers to participate in an African-European
media-symposium in Vienna / Austria. As an invited
"Worldwide Project of EXPO 2000", RBO received
a Gold Medal at the World Exposition in Hannover /
Germany.
The RBO Programmes
There were two principles that distinguished RBO’s
programming: the first was the emphasis that was given to
the viewpoint of the ‘layperson’. RBO
correspondents took their microphones to the grassroots,
the roadsides and the dancehalls of the continent for a
new understanding of ‘informed perspective’.
The second feature of RBO programming was the role the
authors played in their stories. Indeed, they were not
encouraged to remove themselves from these stories, but
acknowledged their response. While RBO was a non-aligned
organisation we thought it was fair that the audience
understood that RBO authors were active parts of their
environment. It was this philosophy that drove RBO to
mobilise some of the most outspoken journalists in Africa
as storytellers who would often use phrases such as
"... in my society ...", "... was my
friend ..." or, ".... and I was afraid
...".
RBO’s stories
were meant to:
> suggest portraits of multidimensional, dynamic
African communities
> enlighten audiences with endogenous responses to
familiar issues of our time in unfamiliar contexts
> and document the response of the collective identity
that is prompted when heritage is confronted
