The Radio Workshop:
Giving Young People a Voice

Six young Capetonians debated this question: does living a life of technology and comfort necessarily mean leaving a big carbon footprint? Opinions varied.

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The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

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Medical science helps Qaqamba to breathe

Click here to listen to youth audio profiles and audio diaries produced by the Radio Workshop!

Sounds from Seaweed

Adam Carnegie tells us all about making a vuvuzela from seaweed. We also hear how they sound!

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That’s it for this week, join us next week for more from the Radio Workshop. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show!

Daniel and Tendai are delegates at UNICEF’s second Zambian Children’s Climate Conference (ZCCCII) held this week in Lusaka. More than 90 Zambian Climate Ambassadors – all under 18 years of age and from all of Zambia’s 9 provinces – are sharpening their advocacy skills and gaining new skills, including how to be HIV and AIDS peer educators.

©UNICEF Zambia/2010/Christine Nesbitt

Working with the Children’s Radio Foundation, sixteen of the young ZCCCII delegates form part of the press crew for the conference, and are reporting on the happenings of the event. Using audio recorders, video, cameras, and blogs, the young people are being trained to capture the experiences of climate change and HIV/AIDS of young Zambians and to document the efforts of their peers to make a difference in their local communities.

Organizing radio talk shows, conducting interviews, taking photos, writing feature articles on climate change, and filming the proceedings of the conference, the young reporters load their footage on to uniteforclimate.org, an online portal for youth climate change activism.

Fifteen year-old Lusaka resident Ceswa Mpandamabula is part of the press crew. He says that media is an essential tool in addressing the youth around important issues. “We’re living in a time where technology has taken over everything. But only young people in cities usually have access, and most areas are not developed. But radio is everywhere in the country, and it’s a great way to talk to a lot of people from all different situations.”

Ceswa conducted radio interviews with several of his peers, and found out about specific HIV/AIDS scenarios in various Zambian communities. “It was really great to do an interview,” he said. “When you get to interview someone, you’re learning from them. And it’s good to learn that the same message you’re hearing from someone, you’re also sharing with it many people on radio, so we’re all learning.”

©UNICEF Zambia/2010/Christine Nesbitt

The conference is focused on getting young people to develop climate change and HIV/AIDS advocacy campaigns to bring back to their community, and to groom young Zambian leaders as peer educators.

To hear some of the audio and see photos from the event, visit the Children’s Radio Foundation’s broadcast website: www.radioworkshop.org.

No time to listen to the entire show? Pick and choose what you want to listen to below! Or subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get full episodes delivered to you every week.

The Radio Workshop broadcasts every Saturday at 12 noon on SAFM. Visit SAFM’s website for information about how to find their frequency in your area.

After-school yoga

Nandi Tokwe and Sonwabise Sifo are both 13 years old and in Grade 7 at Sakumlandela Primary. We took a visit to their yoga class to find out more. 

We’d love to hear from you—send us an email at info@radioworkshop.org!

Project facilitator Nokuphiwo Jada

Earth Child

The Earth Child Project works on the holistic development of children, teachers, schools, and communities. They teach young people practical skills to live more balanced and fulfilling lives, and focus on self-awareness, health and wellness, and the environment.

Nokuphiwo Jada has been working with the “earth children” at Sakumlandela Primary School in Khayelitsha for a few years now. And she’s seen some major changes in their daily lives. 

Click here to listen to youth audio profiles and audio diaries produced by the Radio Workshop!

Sonwabise Sifo and Nandi Tokwe

Worm farming

13 year-old Nandi Tokwe is involved in an Earth Child project at her school that forces her to get her hands dirty. But that doesn’t bother her one bit.

Click here to listen to previous Radio Workshop podcasts. And click here to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to get new episodes delivered to you every week.

Earth Child is also the subject of a film at Encounters, the South African International Documentary Film Festival. The festival starts this weekend in Cape Town, and there are lots of films on show that young people will find very interesting. We spoke to Encounters Festival Director Mandisa Zitha to find out more. 

That’s it for this week, join us next week for more from the Radio Workshop. We hope you’ve enjoyed the show!