Radio Vokaribe: Using Community Radio in Building Collective Citizenship

According to WACC, lack of communication strategies by many of the local organisations and lack of response by the local authorities prevented marginalised and vulnerable sectors in the city’s south-east neighbourhoods from having a place on the public agenda. The "invisibility" or lack of awareness of governance processes also contributes to deepening the perception that citizens in the area do not participate in the development of the city. By collaborating with several local social organisations, Vokaribe Broadcasting Association embarked on this one-year programme to create, network, motivate, and encourage participation on issues of community development.

Through the project, approximately 60 local people from a variety of social organisations participated in training workshops, mastered radio production techniques, and developed content. The project included a high percentage of women and young participants, opening up new spaces for engagement. As a result of the project, Radio Vokaribe FM will start broadcasting in December 2012 to 70 neighbourhoods in the south-west of the city of Barranquilla, an area which is home to around 60% of the city's low income sectors.

The radio programmes are also broadcast via the internet on the Vokaribe FM website.

Citizen Engagement

According to WACC, the northern city of Barranquilla has been especially affected by urban violence generated on the one hand by society's profound inequality and on the other by half a century of armed conflict. The situation is made worse by a culture of political corruption and non-participation of citizens that has created a fertile ground for more violence.