Bento D’Souza
MUMBAI, AUGUST 14, 2008: On August 11, 29 Media Coordinators of the Salesian Sisters Network attended a training session on Community Radio (CR) animated by Fr. Bento D’Souza and his team from Jyoti Youth Outsource Training Centre, Jyoti, at the invitation of Sr. Hilda Braganza, Director of AMAR, at Wadala. The session was on the emergence of CR as the new “model for ministry” to provide a voice to the voiceless in India today. The workshop began with expectations being sought out from the group. The participants had the W5H questions to ask at the beginning: What is CR, its outcome and impact? Who are the organizers, funders and beneficiaries? Where, internationally and in India, are CR stations operating? When did CR begin in the globe and in India? Why did the CR movement spread in the world and in India? How does a CR unit function? To respond to the questions, a ‘speed test’ of names of Radio stations in the world had to be filled in, group wise. This measured the literacy of the group on CR globally. Next, warm up exercises were held and activities like choosing a relevant people-centered name for one’s own radio station and a signature tune were created. Facts, information, happenings and events about CR policy and implications for ministry were shared. It was also mentioned that Pope Benedict XVI calls the radio, “the modern pulpit” and an apostolic means to make the invisible church visible. The session ended with a virtual visit to a radio production studio, where an exercise was conducted. The group was exhorted to become literate about Community Radio at the personal level, so as to become more competent in radio journalism. The workshop lit a spark in the imagination of all the participants.