On Sunday 14 October 2007, over 40 broadcasters from 30 European countries are celebrating the third edition of Radio Day of European Cultures by focusing their programmes on Europe and on the richness and diversity of its cultures. The Radio Day of European Cultures is a joint initiative of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and PRIX EUROPA. The initiative was first launched in 2003 and is held every two years.
The event provides a unique chance for all European broadcasters to make a major contribution to building a common European identity and demonstrating the great potential of radio to cross borders. The event is under the personal patronage of Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, as well as the auspices of Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and of Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy.
To kick off the third Radio Day of European Cultures, EBU and PRIX EUROPA are teaming up for a concert of “R’nBesk Meets Swing.” The concert, which both launches the 2007 Radio Day and marks the end of Ramadan, is a “musical dialogue” between German-Turkish pop star Muhabbet and the famous Capital Dance Orchestra big band.
The concert will be broadcast live worldwide in surround sound via satellite and the Internet by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) station Radiomultikulti and the EBU Euroradio network. The program starts on 13 October at 2000 until 2100 CEST (1800-2000 UTC), and will be transmitted from the Großer Sendesaal in the RBB Haus des Rundfunks in Berlin. The Radio Day and the concert will be opened by EBU Radio Director Raina Konstantinova.
“This day will bring listeners from all over Europe together to share an experience, the incomparable feeling of belonging to the same European humanistic tradition of blending cultures and promoting understanding,” says Raina Konstantinova, EBU Radio Director.
Every participating radio station is free to design its own Radio Day programming geared towards its listeners’ preferences. Participating stations will focus on Europe in their programmes — on air, online, podcasts, etc. — throughout the day, highlighting the diversity of European cultures and how they come together to build a common European identity.
In a snapshot: Deutsche Welle ‘explores’ Europe with its tri-lingual series “Terra Incognita”; Slovak Radio broadcasts its Radio Day programme on all facets of Slovak and Czech music and culture; Austrian Ö1 challenges its listeners to a cultural quiz on the Danube and its region. In addition, important programme offers such as the finale of “Let the peoples sing” (WDR), “Borders” (BBC) and the EBU Folk Special complete the Radio Day offers. The programmes “Borders” and “Terra” Incognita will also be broadcast on the European Parliament intranet.
A full list of programmes of this year’s edition is available at:
http://www/radiodayweb.eu./detail_side.html?side=1
Finally, this year the EBU and PRIX EUROPA have created a special blog on “I am Europe - Collecting Voices from Europe” where audiences can express themselves and start group discussions on European themes and on the future of the Union. The blog will be online until April 2008. Join the discussions at www.radiodayweb.eu/blog.html.
(Source: European Broadcasting Union/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)