Participants at the workshops held by BBC Media Action for presenters and managers at its seven local radio station partners in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands region of northern Kenya and the informal settlements of Nairobi
English
The back-to-back workshops held in Limuru, on the outskirts of Nairobi, included three days of training in journalism skills followed by four and a half days of training on strategic planning
Maata FM’s editing room with the new equipment provided by BBC Media Action. The radio station in Turkana received one on-air computer, two editing computers, one printer and four Uninterruptible Power Supplies
BBC Media Action held back-to-back workshops for presenters and managers at its local radio station partners in December, with three days of training in journalism skills followed by four and a half days of training on strategic planning.
Under the SWIFT programme, seven community radio stations in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands region of northern Kenya and the informal settlements of Nairobi are being mentored by BBC Media Action, which is supporting them to develop engaging, compelling and memorable broadcasts that encourage communities to adopt healthier hygiene behaviours.
Presenters and managers from each of the stations – Maata FM, Sifa FM, Wajir Community Radio, Mtaani FM, Koch FM, Star FM and Ghetto FM – attended the workshops from 14-21 December, which were held in Limuru, on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Workshop objectives
The three-day workshop held by BBC Media Action for presenters aimed to build on-the-job journalism skills through practical and engaging activities. Sessions included an analysis of what makes a good journalist, and covered both interviewing and production skills. The workshop was delivered by BBC Media Action’s senior production manager, Jackie Christie.
It was followed by a strategic planning workshop which aimed to help managers at community radio stations learn how to: make practical, strategic plans; understand how to implement them, and their impact on all aspects of the station; understand how to organise operations to achieve their strategies; develop sustainable business and broadcast models in line with their plans; and manage the strategic process to fruition, adapting to changing forces as necessary.
Over the course of the workshop, local radio station managers with a diverse range of backgrounds took part in sessions focusing on programme development, fundraising skills, monitoring and evaluation, proposal writing, presentation and ‘selling’ skills, strategy-driven branding, media law and ethics, and social media.
Strategic planning
Despite their different levels of skills and experience, strategic planning was a new field for all the managers involved, and at the end of the workshop, all said they understood better how to develop a strategic plan and put it into practice. Participants felt they would like additional support with proposal writing and business plan development, and BBC Media Action will continue to provide assistance to partner radio stations with these aspects remotely.
BBC Media Action is also in the process of procuring new equipment for its local radio station partners. Maata FM in Turkana has already received one on-air computer, two editing computers, one printer and four UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Supplies), which were delivered to the station in November 2015. Sifa FM in Marsabit received a delivery in January 2016, and procurement of equipment for Wajir Community Radio Station and Star FM in Wajir is also underway.
The seven stations being supported through the SWIFT programme are broadcasting programmes that integrate key hygiene-promotion messages. They are given dedicated, regular time slots for broadcast, making them recognisable and easier to access by listeners, and range from ‘Hygiene this week’ in Swahili to ‘Be identified with cleanliness’ in Borana. You can listen to the programmes at https://soundcloud.com/washprojects2015.
