It is the country’s most prominent mass medium and many broadcast journalists and media managers in Rwanda have a lot of reasons to celebrate what they describe as vibrant existence of radio in the country.

Last Friday, Rwanda joined the rest of the world in celebrating the World Radio Day, and, from various interviews The New Times had with local radio journalists and media managers, the story of the industy is that of a success, painting how the future remains bright for the medium.

There has indeed been a boom of radio stations in the country since 2004 when the country’s media was liberalised.

The country has since moved from having one radio station, the formerly government-owned Radio Rwanda, to the current 33 on the airwaves.

That the number of radio stations increased in the country is what most broadcast journalists and managers cited as the most important thing to celebrate about the radio industry in Rwanda because having many stations has allowed more people to express themselves.

Aldo Havugimana, the director of Radio Rwanda, said radio has become "the real mass media for the people of Rwanda.”

"Radio has contributed to the development of free expression given the diversity of radio stations in the country.

Now the ability of radio to unite people has to be leveraged to improve their wellbeing,” Havugimana said.

Eugène Hagabimana, the director of university and community radio station, Radio Salus, agrees that the increase in the number of radio stations in the country has opened the opportunity for expression for many people.

"There is no way to miss one’s topic of interest with the current number of radio stations. We also do a lot of advocacy through radio, which has advanced democracy since we receive a lot of complaints from people and we put them in the limelight,” he said.

Egidie Bibio Ingabire, president of the Association of Rwanda Female Journalists, said listening to radio remains an important way to learn for many Rwandans, who are yet to fully adopt the reading culture.

She also commended the fact that more Rwandan women are working as radio journalists, which, she argues, has improved the quality of radio content.

Why Radio Day is marked

At the celebration of the World Radio Day, officials at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), said the day was about celebrating why people love radio and why they need it today more than ever.

They said it’s a day to "remember the unique power of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe.”

The United Nations secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, said the day was about celebrating "a medium that captures the imagination and brings people together,” especially the youth.

"This year’s observance of World Radio Day highlights the importance of radio to the world’s 1.8 billion young women and men. Radio matters for youth across the world. As the international community shapes new sustainable development goals and the new global agreement on climate change, we need to hear the voices of young women and men loudly, strongly and urgently,” Ban said.

In terms of improving radio journalism in the country, some broadcasters suggested that the government exempt private radio of some taxes and that radio owners try and increase remunerations for journalists.

"Today, we celebrate the big number of radio stations, next time we should celebrate improved livelihood for radio journalists. We hope that radio owners will appreciate the good work done by their journalists and improve their pay,” Ingabire said.

Meanwhile, as part of the activities to mark the World Radio Day, a partnership was announced between Unesco and Mount Kenya University, Kigali campus, with an aim of inspiring young Rwandans to use the media to develop their talents.

The partnership is in line with this year’s theme, "The Youth and the Radio.” During an event at the university’s radio station, Royal FM in Kicukiro District, students from eight secondary schools participated in a radio talent competition.

Some of the talents that will be developed through this partnership include singing, dancing, and public speaking.

"The fact that Unesco has also recognised the need to have the youth participate more in the media encouraged us, as a university that offers journalism classes, to work with them to inspire the youngsters,” said Dr Mercyline Kamande, the principal of Mount Kenya University, Kigali campus.

"Actually, students in the journalism class are still few so we want to inspire the young talent since there’s a lot of young talent in the country that hasn’t been tapped,” she added.

The programme, started this year by Unesco, will always take place on every World Radio Day and will also help encourage the youth to look at the media as a lucrative vocation.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw