Friday, February 08, 2013

World Radio Day celebrates a dynamic and powerful medium

Radio continues to meet the challenges of the modern media world, says ABU Secretary-General Dr Javad Mottaghi in his message to mark World Radio Day 2013.

Over the years, radio has faced challenges by many new and emerging media, television, mass production and circulation of newspapers, the Internet and now social media. 

“Radio continues to meet these challenges successfully and, in many regions, with enhanced efficacy,” Dr Mottaghi says. “In many parts of the world, radio listening is on the increase, due mainly to innovative programming, ease of access and to the digitalisation effort that the radio industry has taken up.”

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union is pleased to support the proclamation by UNESCO of 13 February as World Radio Day. Since the ABU’s inception in 1964, the Union has actively supported radio broadcasting and its development, most recently with major initiatives such as the ABU Radio Song Festival and the annual RadioAsia Conference, the only radio content forum in this region.

“Radio continues to be an important means of communicating with audiences around the globe,” Dr Mottaghi says. “In countries with large populations in Asia, radio is a very effective means of providing information, entertainment and education on a mass scale and is a powerful tool for social development. Even in Pacific Islands with smaller populations, radio is widely used for people-to-people communication.

“Radio is everywhere, providing stimulating content anywhere, any time.”

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova says radio has transformed the way we communicate and remains at the forefront of the 21st century.

“Radio has transformed our past [and] it remains a powerful force for shaping a more peaceful, more sustainable and more inclusive future for all,” she says.

For Dr Mottaghi’s message in full, go to www.abu.org.my and for more information on how people around the region and the world are marking World Radio Day, visit www.unesco.org.

(Source : ABU)

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