COLOMBIA: Radio stations teaching peace

The Presidential Council for Stabilization and Consolidation's tweet announcing where six new radio stations for peace will be located. The photograph shows the studios of the broadcaster in Ituango
The Presidential Council for Stabilization and Consolidation’s tweet announcing where six new radio stations for peace will be located. The photograph shows the studios of the broadcaster in Ituango
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Colombia had almost been destroyed by over fifty years of armed conflict between guerrillas, private armies fighting for the drug cartels and the army. After 2016, when a Peace Accord was signed in Havana by the government and the largest guerrilla movement, a process of reconciliation was initiated. Part of this process included opening 20 radio stations in order to teach the pedagogy of peace. The first station was opened on June 25th, 2019, in Chaparral (in the department of Tolima) broadcasting on 103.5 MHz FM, followed by the second on July 2nd, 2019, in Ituango (Antioquia) on 92.3 MHz FM. They are equipping another three in San Jacinto (Bolivar), Fonseca (La Guajira) and Convención (Norte de Santander). They have recently decided where another six radio stations, all with 5 kW power output, will be located: Algeciras (Huila), Puerto Leguízamo (Putumayo), Bojayá (Chocó), Florida (Valle), Arauquita (Arauca) and El Tambo (Cauca). In this way the number of radio stations goes up to eleven out of the 20 planned until 2026.

Professional management

Each radio station 'is a Radio Nazionale della Colombia station, managed according to state guidelines' declared Emilio Archila, a Presidential Counsellor for Stabilization and Consolidation for the peace process
Each radio station ‘is a Radio Nacional de Colombia station, managed according to state guidelines’ declared Emilio Archila, a Presidential Counsellor for Stabilization and Consolidation for the peace process
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Each radio station team is made up of six professionals who have been carefully selected and taken on by RTVC Public Media System. They have been trained to face the challenge of explaining the implementation of the Agreement (for example, explaining the conversion of large areas of the country from coca cultivation to that of cacao). The radio programmes are also checked by a committee made up of government bodies (such as the Ministry of Stabilization and the Office of the High Commissioner of Peace) and FARC delegates. FARC today is a political party.

Three strong points

The Radio Chaparral studios, the first radio station opened on June 25th, 2019day is a political party
The Radio Chaparral studios, the first radio station that opened on June 25th, 2019
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The extensive and varied programming combines objective information and entertainment. The aim is to build a relationship between public radio stations and historically isolated communities that have suffered violence and poverty. It is a means to open a new window for dialogue and to promote peaceful coexistence. The radio programming content includes a block of time for information, another for building social networks and yet another for discussions with experts, whose aims are to explain new perspectives without sparking off heated debates.

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