Field Testing of Community Radio Continuous Improvement Toolkit, Bangaluru, Karnataka,3-4 February, 2014

New Delhi, 30/01/2014: Continuing the work related to further refinement of the Community Radio Continuous Improvement Toolkit developed last year, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair on Community Media (UCCM), University of Hyderabad will organize a field testing workshop from 3-4 February, 2014 in Bengaluru at Radio Active community radio station. The Community Radio Continuous Improvement Toolkit (CR-CIT)’ has already been tested in Bangladesh and an adapted version will be implemented there.

The CR Continuous Improvement Toolkit provides an easy-to-use framework that allows CR stations to periodically assess themselves on their performance. The toolkit has been drafted keeping in view: (a) the national community radio policy guidelines (in India) which have several mandatory provisions; and (b) certain non-negotiable principles of community media globally, such as community participation and ownership, access and inclusion to marginalised groups, gender equity, community-generated content, emphasis on local cultures and identities, and transparency and accountability in practice.

This field-testing of the CR-CIT will help get feedback on both the process as well as the content of the toolkit. It is expected to help further refine the toolkit and develop a credible process of self-review and peer assessment into the toolkit.