BUJUMBURA February 14th (ABP) – As part of the celebration of World Radio Day 2022 edition, and under the high patronage of the Minister of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, Mrs. Léocadie Ndacayisaba, the Burundian Association of Broadcasters (ABR), organized Friday, February 11, 2022, a media synergy under the theme “radio and trust”.
In her speech, the Minister in charge of the media said that this day is normally celebrated on February 13 of each year. In Burundi, we preferred to celebrate that day on February 11 because February 13 coincides with a Sunday which is a public holiday in Burundi. She added that in celebrating this holiday, Burundi joins UNESCO which called on all radio stations to celebrate February 13, the 11th edition, explaining that radio is one of the most reliable and the most used to send messages to the Burundian population.
According to Mrs. Ndacayisaba, the radio provided fast and affordable access to real-time information and professional coverage of issues of public interest, as well as a guarantee of distance education and entertainment. She took that opportunity to point out that this 11th edition of World Radio Day is celebrated at a time when the radio sector continues to expand. Today, there are 42 radios, including 21 community radios, which allows the public to choose the radio they trust, a radio that meets their needs.
According to the Minister, the government of Burundi is committed to supporting the media within the limits of its means, in particular by organizing capacity building frameworks for media professionals and the establishment of a media support fund. She specified that the ministry having the media in its attributions, through that fund, ordered the material for the media and once the latter will be available, she promised that the media will benefit from it.
However, she pointed out, as the funding for this fund comes only from the government, it will not be able to respond to all the problems of resources experienced by the media. She invited all development partners to support the government of Burundi to finance that fund.
The Chairman of the Burundian Association of Broadcasters (ABR), Mr. Onésime Harubuntu noted the importance, role, value and place of radio in society. He specified that the radios like all the other media are an important sector in the industry of a country. Those are socio-economic enterprises, generating jobs and profits. It is through them that they receive various information (political, economic, sporting, religious, entertaining or educational).
Mr. Harubuntu did not fail to point out that in Burundi, each year comes with a new birth in the world of radio broadcasting, which goes hand in hand with the growth of trust between the radios themselves, the national institutions and the technical and financial partners.
It is also an opportunity to emphasize that the radio is not there to point out what is going wrong, but rather to promote what has been successful in the implementation of government programs by reinforcing information likely to encourage the developing people. He indicated that the activities of the celebration of the world radio day will be closed on February 16 of this year by a workshop which will bring together all the stakeholders in the sector of communication.