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Project: Strengthening promotion of women’s rights (Kenya)
Evaluation Date: October 2011
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

In Kenya, community dialogues over the radio proved effective in raising rural women’s awareness about their rights. For example, many married women in conservative communities gave little thought to the fact that their husbands possessed their identity papers. Through radio shows highlighting women’s issues, women became aware of the fact that this practice deprived them of the possibility to vote. The project could have allocated more funds to radio journalism. In the evaluation report many interviewees stressed the importance of radio in rural areas in Kenya, as it reaches beneficiaries with low literacy rates in vernacular languages, without the need of internet access.

UNDEF/Kenya

Theme: Women's empowerment

Kenya grassroots, radio, rural

Project: Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan
Evaluation Date: March 2015
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The grantee intended to engage with local civil society organizations and its radio network to develop a new system of reporting that would be informed by youth and women’s voice and monitoring efforts, and produced public awareness messages to increase their targeted groups’ understanding of the Afghan democratic context. The use of radio to diffuse information was particularly relevant given Afghanistan’s difficult terrain and the rural nature of much of its population, who rely primarily on radio for information.

Theme: Media

Afghanistan elections, radio, rural

Project: Grassroots Gender Accountability in Uganda
Evaluation Date: April 2014
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Investigative journalism was intended to critically review shortcomings discovered by VBCs throughout the project’s target districts; TV and radio shows were meant to overcome the lack of interfaces between the local population and duty bearers and to serve as a strategy for increased accountability. Furthermore, NGOs are still inviting the grantee’s Kibaale field officer to radio shows to share the approach and achievements of the monitoring work with a wider audience. One particular radio station has even offered free airtime. There is hence relevant impact towards transparent, gender-responsive local service provision in the form of vivid online readership discussion and comments in relation to the project’s investigative journalism outputs.

Theme: Interaction with government

Uganda journalism, media, radio

Project: Civil Society Support Initiative on Political Marginalization in the Niger Delta in Nigeria
Evaluation Date: December 2012
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

A radio programme, based on a Democracy Roundtable, was produced and broadcast in four states. While the topic was relevant to the project, no matter how well-produced, a “one-off” radio broadcast will have done little to support project objectives. Properly planned, with programming produced with local communities on a continuing basis, and with links to community development activities, development broadcasting can be a very effective tool. If radio programming is selected as a core project activity, it must be well-integrated with other activities and be employed throughout the project.

Theme: Community activism

Nigeria impact, radio

Project: Promotion of Women’s Empowerment and Rights in Somalia
Evaluation Date: June 2016
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The CSOs were fully involved in a series of TV and radio debates both as panelists and audiences. These were a good way to give the CSOs an opportunity to speak out, to engage local journalists in the issues, and to broaden the discourse on women’s empowerment. TV and particularly radio are the most common forms of information dissemination in a region where literacy rates are low.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Somalia engagement, media, outreach, radio, TV

Project: Advocating for Community Radio in Zimbabwe
Evaluation Date: December 2020
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

During field visits, it was clear that the role of Community Radio Initiatives as bearers of local languages, identities, and cultures is crucial for the growth and recognition of Community Radio Initiatives. Branding can help improve their visibility. With little visible branding, community buy-in might not be as high as that which could be possible.

Theme: Media

Zimbabwe community, culture, growth, language, radio, visibility

Project: Using Access to Information to Foster Open Expenditure and Budget Transparency in Liberia
Evaluation Date: December 2018
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Community-based radio is a key tool for raising community level awareness and promoting citizen engagement in debates around issues of corruption due to high levels of local listenership. Organizations should take care to conduct community radio programs in local languages in order to ensure maximum engagement with the local community.

Theme: Rule of law

Liberia awareness, community, local languages, radio

Project: Citizens' Platform for Democratic Debates & Dialogues in Afghanistan
Evaluation Date: December 2011
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The choice of media dissemination and especially the use of radio in rural areas and remote districts in Afghanistan were very relevant. Despite weak project design, the grantee’s strategy to directly target or reach people likely to be uninformed about or actively resistant to democratic ideas due to misconceptions was sound and pertinent.

Theme: Media

Afghanistan conflict, radio, rural

Project: Enhancing Political Participation of Marginalised Women in Nepal
Evaluation Date: September 2010
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

Radio programmes were considered the best media for enabling women to make their voices heard. Participants remarked on the quality of the broadcasts and the effectiveness of media outputs. Local journalists said that these programs had helped individual women realize that they were not alone in enduring discrimination, and that sharing experiences about discrimination is no longer taboo.

Theme: Women's empowerment

Nepal discrimination, media, radio, rural

Project: Rights and freedoms for all in Togo
Evaluation Date: September 2010
Report: [report link]

Lesson Learned:

The production of broadcasts in Togo involved a partnership with Radio Lomé, which was effective at getting messages across. The media regulation authority, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Electoral Commission were involved as resource persons for training activities and content. It is recommended that the grantee continues to develop and formalize these partnerships.

Theme: Community activism

Togo audience, radio

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