A HISTORY OF  RBO's PROGRAMMING

RBO produced in October & November 1996 a series of 8 x 15-minute episodes titled "MAKING IT WORK" about use of appropriate technology, on ZBC (Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation) Radio 4, which was also aired in different language versions in Botswana, Kenya and Ethiopia. Episodes in this series were used as a method of informing policy-makers by identifying and assessing the demand for sustainable technical solutions in various sectors of the developing economies in East and Southern Africa. The programs were produced in RBO's studios in English, Shona and Kiswahili and were designed to sensitize the rural and urban poor to the existence, availability and applicability of appropriate technologies. The series also constructed a forum for the cross-fertilisation of ideas from around the region through an introduction in each episode of a technology and its usage in individual countries of the region. (Due to the great success of programming re-broadcast is anticipated - in additional language versions - in Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda.) 
Click here for audio samples. 

The weekly series "Izwi Romurimi / Ilizwi Lomlimi" (Farmer's Voice) of the Zimbabwe Farmers Union, on ZBC Radio 2, with an interactive component, was produced by RBO for 15 months in 1996 and 1997 in Shona and Ndebele. There was an interactive component in this program which allowed administrators to be in close contact with the grassroots who make up their constituencies. The format of the series had the objective of disseminating information to about 170,000 small-scale farmers in a fast and cost-effective way. Click here for audio samples. 

Another 24-episode series about community-based management of natural resources called "Kuchengetedza Zviwanikwa" (Living Ideas) has just been aired on ZBC Radio 2, with overvoiced versions in other African languages simultaneously on air in Botswana, Zambia and Namibia. This series had the objective of passing on knowledge to the grassroots about community-based natural resources management by illustrating various community initiatives and their benefits. Rural communities from a variety of countries in the Southern African region were provided with a chance to exchange ideas and experiences so that they could learn from each other. The radio series covered issues like traditional knowledge and practice, issues of legislation, capacity building, and community participation. 
Click here to access this special RBO project. 

 Based on regular feeds to public German radio stations since 1993 (overvoiced German versions of programmes by story tellers of RBO's African network) RBO produced, partly together with its German sister society "Radio Brücke Übersee e.V." and with its partner in Ecuador "Centro de Educacion Popular / CEDEP", in 1995/96 & 97 three audio cassettes (each 5,000 copies) for distribution to adult education institutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 

		Volume I: "VOICES OF AFRICA - ANOTHER VIEW OF DEMOCRACY " (Stimmen aus Afrika - Demokratie anders)
Volume II: "VOICES OF AFRICA - WOMEN IN AFRICA" (Stimmen aus Afrika - Frauen in Afrika)
		Volume III: "VOICES OF LATIN AMERICA - LITERATURE & POLITICS IN LATIN AMERICA" (Stimmen aus Lateinamerika - Literatur und Politik in Lateinamerika).

In 1994 RBO produced for half a year a daily 30-minute audio magazine, "VOICES OF AFRICA" with 4 mini-features each by African authors, as feeds through the "Public Radio Satellite System" of the U.S.A. Issues ranged from authentic cultural expressions to social and political developments. 

Three of these mini-features won RBO the "1994 Global Award for Media Excellence" during the UN-World Population Conference in Cairo for "Best Radio Program in fostering support to solve the world population crisis through a demonstrated commitment to share ideas, knowledge, and experience towards the ultimate objective to reduce excessive population growth and creating a better life for all the world's people."

RBO was the clearing house for radio programming for and from communities in different corners of the world with regard to the UN-declared "Year of the Oceans 1998".  Click here for audio samples.

RBO produced in 1998, on behalf of "Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit" & "Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft", an audio feature for distribution to participants of the "International Workshop on Financing Schemes for Decentralised Solar Energy Systems II" from 20th to 23rd October 1998 in Harare / Zimbabwe. The audio-feature contains 5 modules, each up to 6 minutes long, presenting: 

RBO has dubbed the program on analogue cassettes for distribution to all workshop-participants who will make an effort to have the program aired on a national radio station of their country, whereby such stations can either use the 30-minute program in its entirety or select modules for a serial of programs. The cassettes will also be used for other promotional purposes by the recipients.

Also in 1998, RBO has been tasked to produce from within the SADC-region several audio-features for broadcast in Austria which coincided with an EC-SADC conference hosted by Austria as the holder of the EU-presidency in 1998.

        RBO SPECIAL PROJECT  AUSTRIA & SADC   
  RBO's "Special Project Austria & SADC" was researched in Mozambique, Tanzania, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Five 30up to -minute audio features contained each five topical modules, describing amongst others one Austrian assisted development project in each country. The five audio features were on air on ORF1 from October to December 1998. English (in German) versions of all modules can be viewed as a multi-media project on RBO's website. Click here for a sample