UN chief highlights radio's role in bringing people together

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday stressed the importance of radio as a medium that brings people together, calling for the greater participation of young people worldwide in using radio as a critical tool for shaping a sustainable future.

"Today is World Radio Day. In his message, the secretary- general called radio a medium that captures the imagination and brings people together," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"Highlighting the importance of radio to the world's 1.8 billion young women and men, the secretary-general said that as we shape the new sustainable development goals and agreement on climate change, we need to hear the voices young women and men, loudly, strongly and urgently," Dujarric said.

In 2011, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed Feb. 13 as World Radio Day, the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946. Radio is the most prevalent mass medium, with the ability to reach up to 95 percent of the world's population.

Joining the secretary-general, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova called on countries and partners to make the most of radio' s ability to foster social inclusion, intergenerational dialogue and social change.

"Young women and men are not sufficiently represented in the media -- an exclusion that often reflects a wider social, economic and democratic exclusion," Bokova said in her message for the Day.

"Young producers and broadcasters are still rare. Too few programs are devoted to or designed by young people," she said. " This deficit explains the many stereotypes concerning young people circulating in the media and over the airwaves."

As a result, World Radio Day aims to celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality over the airwaves.

This year, the principal theme for the Day is the promotion of youth in radio, both as a conduit for the greater participation of young people in radio journalism and communications as well as encouraging the world's under-30 population in being facilitators for sustainable development. Endite