Radio Azadi's Radio Distribution Drive in Afghanistan

Since September, RFE’s (Radio Free Europe's) Afghan service Radio Azadi -- the most popular radio station in the country -- has been distributing 20,000 hand-cranked and solar powered radios to people all across Afghanistan. The aim of the project is to promote access to news and information, especially in rural and remote areas where illiteracy rates are among the highest in the world and where radio is often the only means for people to receive news.

Continued story and photos at Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty: http://www.rferl.org/content/off_mic_radio_azadi_distribution_drive/2241690.html

Radio Azadi launches interactive SMS service

Radio Azadi, Radio Free Europe's Afghan station, has launched an interactive SMS service that is connecting the station more directly with its audience, especially villagers in remote, inaccessible regions who are often cut off from news and information. Thanks to a recent partnership between RFE and mobile service provider Etisalat, mobile phone users in Afghanistan can now subscribe to free SMS news updates and emergency alerts from Radio Azadi.

“The exciting thing is that it’s not just Radio Azadi sending news to subscribers,” says RFE Associate Director of Broadcasting Akbar Ayazi. “It’s our subscribers sending news back to us. Since the project launched less than a month ago, we’ve already received more than 5,000 text messages from people all around the country - this ‘citizen journalism’ is unique in Afghanistan.”

Each morning and evening, Etisalat customers who subscribe to the free service receive news headlines from Radio Azadi in either Dari or Pashto. They also get SMS messages on their phones with breaking news and emergency alerts. In addition to texts, Mr Ayazi says subscribers will soon be able to send Radio Azadi photos and videos from their mobile devices. He says the station has launched a new weekly programme in which many of the SMS messages it receives are read on the air.

Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan has 17 million mobile phone subscriptions out of a population of 29 million.
(Source: RFE/RL/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

'Voices from Afghanistan' -Library of Congress exhibit opens

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The Library of Congress has launched a new exhibit in Washington, D.C. showcasing some of the thousands of handwritten scrolls and letters sent by listeners to Radio Azadi, RFE/RL's popular Afghan radio station. Librarian of Congress Dr. James Billington calls Voices from Afghanistan "a window through which can be seen the society, culture, and concerns of the Afghan people." [Take an online, interactive tour of the letters]

Since it began broadcasting in 2001, Radio Azadi has received nearly 15,000 pieces of "fan mail" from merchants, clerics, farmers, university students, and schoolchildren across Afghanistan. RFE/RL is presenting these letters as a gift to the permanent collection of the Library of Congress's African and Middle Eastern Division.

In some of the letters on display, teenagers discuss conditions at their schools, villagers complain about corrupt officials, refugees describe their plight, and young lovers make song requests. Drawing on a centuries-long tradition of calligraphic art and miniature paintings, many writers painstakingly adorn their letters and scrolls with elaborate, ornate designs and colorful pictures. [See a four-minute video tracing the journey of a scroll written by two Afghan students]

"One of the most striking things about these letters is the flowers," said Afghan Ambassador to the U.S. Said Jawad at a February 23 reception at the Library of Congress marking the launch of Voices from Afghanistan. "Although many people are suffering, the flowers demonstrate the hope and beauty that is part of Afghan culture."

"Many of these letters come from people seeking peace, justice, and jobs," said Jawad. "Radio Azadi and American support are helping us deliver these dreams to the Afghan people."

The multimedia exhibit also includes Radio Azadi audio clips as well as manuscripts, maps, photos, and music from the Library's permanent collection of artifacts from Afghanistan.

Voices from Afghanistan is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, on the first floor of the Library's Thomas Jefferson building at 10 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. Admission to the exhibit is free and it will run through May 2010.

About Radio Azadi
RFE/RL's Afghan Service, known locally as Radio Azadi, is the most popular radio station in Afghanistan. Radio Azadi produces a variety of programming, including news, investigative features, political satire, literary programs and music. It is noted particularly for its numerous programs dedicated to women's rights, youth issues, and democracy. Over the years, Radio Azadi has received thousands of letters from listeners throughout the country and across the region.
(RFE/RL)