[UgaBYTES] Community Radio License to be issued within two months In Bangladesh

[BNNRC]

Community Radio License to be issued within two months

In Bangladesh



Issuing license to set up 116 community radios in Bangladesh is under consideration of the Government. These community radio stations will start operation within two months, the concerned authority expected. Primarily 116 organizations have been identified as eligible for license of community radio in a meeting of the National Regulatory Committee held in the Ministry of Information on Tuesday 15 July, 2008. 

 

Sources said, the technical sub-committee formed in accordance with the community radio policy 2008, sent a list of 124 Government and non-government organizations after sorting out of 180 applications to the National Regulatory Committee headed by Information Secretary. This committee selected 116 organizations eligible for license and withheld 12 organizations in its meeting on Tuesday. Notably, 400 organizations drew application forms from the Ministry but only 180 submitted their applications for license. Having insufficient documents, papers and qualifications for the license, applications of those organizations have been ineligible of the consideration for license.  

   

The sources said, the selected list has been sent to the office of the Chief Advisor for the policy approval. After this approval, the list of the selected organizations will be sent to the Home Ministry for non-objection-certificate. Then Information Ministry will start issuing license after allocating frequency for the community radio stations by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Central Monitoring Committee headed by Director General of Bangladesh Betar will monitor the community radio activities. 

 

Primarily it is impossible to allocate frequency for more than 5 community radio stations in the coastal districts and more than 3 in other districts. Moreover, it will take only two months to allocate frequency after completing all process; it was said in the meeting. 

 

Information Secretary  Mr. Jamil Osman told that, we will try our best to issue license by completing the necessary process as early as possible. Initiatives will also be taken to create awareness among the mass people of this new mass media in the country. 



Role of Community Radio at community level

 

Give voice to the people who normally have no access to the mass media nor opportunity to express their views on community development, Speeds up the process of informing the community and therefore acts as a catalyst of change


Promote the right to communicate, assist the free flow of information and opinions, encourage creative expression and contribute to the democratic process and a pluralist society;


Provide access to training, production and distribution facilities; encourage local creative talent and foster local traditions; and provide program for the benefit, entertainment, education and development of their listeners. Seek to have their ownership representative of local geographically recognizable communities or of communities of common interest.


Provide a right of access to minority and marginalized groups and promote and protect cultural and linguistic diversity. Seek to honestly inform their listeners on the basis of information drawn from a diversity of sources and provide a right of reply to any person or organization subject to serious misrepresentation. Community Radio helps to put the community members in charge of their own affairs.

 

Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC) has already set up Community Radio Academy as one of its social enterprise to promote Community Radio installation, broadcasting and operation around the country.




Bazlu

_______________________
AHM. Bazlur Rahman-S21BR
Chief Executive Officer
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC)
&
Member, Strategy Council
UN-Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID)

House: 13/1, Road:2, Shaymoli, Dhaka-1207 
Post Box: 5095, Dhaka 1205 Bangladesh

Phone: 88-02-9130750, 88-02-9138501
01711881647 Fax: 88-02-9138501-105

E-mail: ceo at bnnrc.net, bnnrc at bd.drik.net
www.bnnrc.net








_______________________
AHM. Bazlur Rahman-S21BR
Chief Executive Officer
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC)
&
Member, Strategy Council
UN-Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID)

House: 13/1, Road:2, Shaymoli, Dhaka-1207 
Post Box: 5095, Dhaka 1205 Bangladesh

Phone: 88-02-9130750, 88-02-9138501
01711881647 Fax: 88-02-9138501-105

E-mail: ceo at bnnrc.net, bnnrc at bd.drik.net
www.bnnrc.net