by Muhammad Farhadul Islam
Abstract
The promotion and protection of human rights can be better strengthened if people are aware of their rights and take action to secure their enjoyment. Such action may be of different nature; individual actions to secure rights, initiatives at the local community level, participating in campaigns or dialoguing with the government. Community radio is a means of communication with people at the grassroots in the local dialect. Community radio offers a good opportunity to discuss local issues and problems. It is also a strong medium to create awareness about rights, related laws and the kind of actions that individuals and communities can take to address problems faced by them or issues that can impact upon their lives. In light of the continued growth of community radio in the country, the researcher investigated prospects of human rights education through community radio. The study looked at community radio in terms of (1) sender characteristics of human rights message in Radio Pollikontho, (2) human rights related massage strategy in Radio Pollikontho and (3) feedback strategies for human rights related program used in Radio Pollikonto. To do this, the researcher monitors and analyzed all productions of one week, broadcasted in Radio Pollikontho. Also researcher visited Radio Pollikontho (operated by BRAC) located in Moulvibazar district, Bangladesh. In-depth interviews were conducted with the radio listeners, community leaders, program producers, volunteers, station manager, human rights activists and UN official.
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