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Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 11:34:28 +0530
To: (FRIENDS OF RADIO SAGARMATHA)
From: net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Radio Sagarmatha Networking)
Subject: RS News (March '99) - Community/Public Radio in Nepal
Status:

Dear Friend... Things continue to be busy in Kathmandu and Nepal... once
again, we thought you might be interested in an update on what's happening.
We love feedback, suggestions and are open to possibilities for
collaboration, so feel free to drop us a line. RS


(March. '99) News about Radio Sagarmatha (RS) and Community Radio in Nepal

SAFA RADIO: THE CLEAN AIR CAMPAIGN: UPDATE
Five days a week, RS and NESS (Nepal Environmental Scientific Services)
take to the streets of Kathmandu in the station's safa tempo, an electric
van, and measure the levels of particles in the air at a different location
in the city. Since January '99, Safa Radio has competed two rounds of
thirty locations and broadcast daily reports and weekly discussions about
levels of pollutants and dust in the air.

The campaign seems to be having a positive effect. Several industry and
public meetings on 'air quality' and 'traffic management' have been held in
Kathmandu, generating some dialogue about air pollution and interest for
Safa Radio. The campaign has also helped to de-mystify the problem as well
as the work and research of scientific groups. Overall... a positive
response from listeners and the public.

What's the situation after seventy days of monitoring the city? What are
particles and where are they from? To the surprise of most, given what the
capital's streets look like, the results - measured at mid- morning rush
hour - say that vehicle emissions are not as big a problem as dust
particles. Pollutants from diesel and petrol burning engines are within WHO
standards of acceptability, but dust particles exceed safe levels.

INTERNET AND EMAIL @ RADIO SAGARMATHA
After many months of looking for a public-minded partner, RS recently made
a deal with a Kathmandu internet service provider to get the station
online. As of mid-February, Radio Sagarmatha's online services are being
provided by WorldLink Communications (more at www.nepalonline.net). The
station's online programme includes a series of email addresses at our own
domain - currently 'radiosag'... we hope to change it - as well as space
for a website. In time, a Sagarmatha Website will support information about
the media situation in Nepal and the development of community radio in the
region, as well as online training resources and online audio programming
from RS's FM service. The deal, which allows for up to ten hours of online
time per week, is being financed through an exchange of on-air
non-commercial sponsorship for internet services.

IMPROVED TRANSMISSION AND A NEW STUDIO MOVE BEYOND THE PLANNING STAGE
With government approval last year for up to twenty-four hours of


broadcasting and an increasingly busy local radio scene in Kathmandu and
elsewhere in the countyr, there has been a lot of pressure to improve RS's
ability to make radio programming, get production facilities up to speed
and improve FM reception.

After nearly two years on-the-air operating with one radio studio and a
minimum of basic equipment, RS began construction of a new studio facility
in March 1999. New space will allow the station to dedicate one studio
exclusively to the work of programme production, the other to broadcasting
of RS's growing daily programme service - tasks previously done in the same
busy studio. New facilities will also be a major boost to training. Future
plans include the inclusion of digital editing facilities and overall
integration of computers.

There is also some action up on the roof. Although RS broadcasts from the
crest of a hill over-looking most of Kathmandu offering pretty good
coverage of the valley, a new roof-top tower will increase the height of
the station's antenna elements up to 100 feet above the ground, offering an
even better omni-directional view of RS's broadcast area. Thanks to Eco
Himal for a grant to undertake construction of the new studio and tower as
well as for some basic studio equipment.

LOCAL TRAINING
This week, RS begins a formalised in-house training programme on basic
radio skills with assistance from international cooperants living in
Kathmandu. Though there has always been a lot of day-to-day , hands-on,
on-the-job training at the station, RS is looking forward to more regular
local training programmes to meet the needs of an expanding local service
and national sector. Alongside the development of local resources, the
station is also trying to mobilise some international cooperation in the
coming year for curriculum and programme design, training of trainers as
well as more advanced programmes. RS takes great pleasure in announcing
that Deutsche Welle's training centre recently agreed to come do a training
with RS in the Fall.

 NEW PROGRAMMES
After expanding to a six hour daily broadcast service in late 1998, RS has
gradually been filling up the additional time with new weekly programmes: a
series of auto-biographies called 'Mero Katha' / 'My Story'; a programme
about economics; a sports programme called 'Khel Maidan' / 'Playing Field';
a co-production with Transparency International looking at issues of good
governance; a music show about Eastern pop; an arts programme focused on
painting; as well as a dramatic comedy, 'Hajurbaa ra Nati' / 'Grandfather,
Granddaughter'. In the works are some new music programmes, a literary show
and more programmes using folk media and cultural traditions. In the next
several weeks, RS will also be launching a new weekly programme looking at
different aspects of democracy called 'Dabali' (a traditional community
meeting place in the Nepali village). It is being supported by the
Westminster Foundation for Democracy (Great Britain).

RURAL RADIOS: THE NEXT PHASE OF  COMMUNITY RADIO DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL
A good ear for radio can pick out the rumblings of new local, independent
FM radios growing outside the Kathmandu valley, the only place it currently
exists in South Asia. A great potential is slowly beginning to roll. In
late 1998, two groups outside of the Kathmandu Valley were granted FM
licenses: the Madan Pokhara VDC is a local government committee in a small
village in the 'middle hills' of Nepal's Western region; Lumbini FM is a
cooperative based in a 'terai' village in the Western plains region
bordering India, nearby to Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha. Using a
combination of locally-raised funds, start-up support from UNESCO and
contributions from other international donors, local residents and
organisers, with support from RS and other advocates, hope to get basic
transmission equipment and studio facilities together within the next
several months. With a little luck two new community FM stations should be
on the air by the time the rains end in September. It promises to be a
learning experience for many and an important step forward in developing a
community-based radio sector in Nepal.

With the first of new stations joining the airwaves soon and the promise of
more in coming years, proponents and advocates of community and
pubic-interest radio are busy thinking about how to coordinate the large
number of groups involved, how to mobilise start-up funds and how to meet
all-important training needs. New strategies are needed. Plans include a
mobile radio station - for which RS has a license - to be used for raising
grassroots awareness, basic training and providing an introduction to FM
broadcasting. Organisers are also talking to potential local and
international partners about financial and other support.

BBC
RS recently participated in a signing ceremony and press conference with
the BBC to formalise an agreement to rebroadcst programmes from the World
Service, including the BBC's Nepali language service. Both groups are
looking forward to a productive partnership with some possible colabration
on reeporting Nepal's upcoming election.

STUDIO EQUIPMENT, COMPUTERS, AND BICYCLES... THANKS!!
With the support of DANIDA, RS recently purchased three bicycles for
producers to make their way around Kathmandu. And UNESCO's International
Programme for Development Communication (IPDC) sent the station some new
studio components, some starter materials for Madan Pokhara and 100
kilograms of used computer equipment which has quadrupled RS's computer
facilities. The donation also included a scanner... so if you want to see
some pictures... let us know. Thanks again.


 'Things You Wanted to Know About Radio Sagarmatha' is an organisational


profile of Nepal's first community-based, public-interest radio station. It
covers things from mandate to the Nepal broadcast environment to current
programmes to technical specifications. If you're interested in seeing a
copy, send us a note and we'll email you. (It is available in MS Word, for
Windows or Mac at <station@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>... or by post).

If you know someone else who might be interesting in hearing about the
development of community and public-interest radio in Nepal, please pass on
this news and ask them to send us an email for upcoming issues:
<net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



 ^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^
ian pringle, ceci/radio sagarmatha cooperant
radio sagarmatha:   gpo box 6958 - kathmandu, nepal;   wk: (977-1) 528 091
fax: 530 227; hm: 422 139   mail: c/o ceci; gpo box 2959 - kathmandu,
nepal;  email: <ipringle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>  <ipringle@xxxxxxxxx>



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