Participatory Radio as a Means for Community Development in Russia

About this grant

The program goal is to promote processes that strengthen public participation in the development of communities. To this end, the Foundation for Independent Radio Broadcasting will continue to develop a network of student community radio stations across Russia. Special attention will be given to fostering the increasingly local character of stations through editorial content and training for community-based curators. In addition, the grantee will work with existing university partners to secure growing institutional support to ensure the future sustainability of the network of stations. In 2012-2014, participating editorial teams submitted almost 140 stories on notable issues and people in their local communities. The reorganization of the project Web site into distinct sections for each local team helped foster both greater identity for each team and increased cross-fertilization of story ideas. The Foundation for Independent Radio Broadcasting has worked in Russia since 1999 to provide training for radio journalists and promote educational programming for Russian audiences.