Community Radio Programme

From the perspective of Cultural Survival, each independent and autonomous community radio station has something to teach and something to learn from other stations. To cite a few concrete examples:

• From July 21-22 2012, two pairs of radio stations visited each other to get to know their work models. Stations were paired up for exchanges based on shared languages, regional proximity, and a match of skills and weaknesses. One pair of stations included Radio Doble Via, of San Mateo Quetzaltenango, with Stereo La X Musical, of Cajola Quetzaltenango. Doble Via, for example, recruited over 30 youth volunteers to participate in the station but lacks the wisdom and experience of the elder generation. La X Musical is a station run by a group of Mayan priests, including one member who is 86 years old, but struggles with the new technology that the younger generation at Doble Via can grasp. On the second day of the exchange, members from the two radio stations visited local sacred sites important to the community. For years now, volunteers from these stations have gotten to know each other through field investigation at events and participation in training workshops held at a central location, but haven't had the opportunity to visit each other in their home stations. These pairings give the volunteers from different stations a chance to get new ideas about what works and what doesn't.
• In March 2013, three members of Radio San Jose arrived in the town of Palestina de los Altos, Quetzaltenango, to meet with members of Radio La Voz de Palestina for the second of their pair of visits. Radio San Jose is run by "experienced teachers with a clear sense of purpose and drive". Radio La Voz de Palestina has the participation of close to 80 youth but "lacks a sense of direction and organization." Samuel told the story of the founding of Radio La Voz de Palestina, 14 years ago, noting that the station has the participation of more youth than any other station but lacks leadership, and many of the young members lack the confidence and drive to create programmes and participate on the air. Roelio, one of the directors of Radio San Jose, spoke to the youth in attendance about the importance of community radio as a forum for overcoming shyness, improving self-esteem, and taking pride in Indigenous heritage. According to Cultural Survival, the youth in attendance responded positively to these lessons. Alberto, a 14-year-old member of La Voz de Palestina, described the station as the school where he learned to overcome his fears and stop thinking of himself as inferior. Two other youth described how they used to be terrified at the idea of speaking on the air, but now feel confident in their abilities to express themselves on the air and in public.

Reflecting on the above exchanges, organisers note that "[b]y pairing stations such that their weaknesses and strengths complemented one another, the stations learned far more from one another than they would have learned from larger workshops. The exchanges allowed stations to expand and improve their programming by sharing material and ideas; to gain usable knowledge on how to improve on deficits from stations that have overcome the same issues; and to create bonds that continue to strengthen commitment to the community radio movement. We hope to begin a new exchange program soon, allowing more stations to benefit from these horizontal-learning experiences."

Youth, Rights.

According to organisers, nonprofit community radio plays a critical role in the daily lives of Indigenous people in Guatemala. Francisco Xico, a Mayan priest who volunteers at his local community radio station, says: "The radio helps keep our culture and language alive." Cultural Survival staffer Ancelmo Xunic added: "It is by the community, for the community." Community radio volunteer Angelica Cubur Sul says: "As an Indigenous women, I can say that the community radio is the only place that I can express my views and opinions and be sure that they will be heard by the entire town. The Mayor expresses his opinion on our radio, so do the police, and so do I."

"The impulse for the founding of Cultural Survival arose during the 1960s with the 'opening up' of the Amazonian regions of South America and other remote regions elsewhere. As governments all over the world sought to extract resources from areas that had never before been developed, the drastic effects this trend had on the regions' Indigenous Peoples underscored the urgent need to partner with Indigenous communities to defend their human rights. Cultural Survival was founded to help Indigenous Peoples in their struggles for human rights, sovereignty, and autonomy."