After the success of Telesur, Venezuela is working today on the Radio of the South project, conceived as a network of interconnected radio stations, unlike the television experience. Helena Salcedo, director of the state owned National Radio of Venezuela, said that the basic goal of the initiative is to gather radio experiences from many countries and show integration and solidarity in the region.In an interview distributed by the Ministry of Information and Communications, Salcedo added that at a national level there are more than 11 frequencies in various states ready to operate and the assignation for the nation’s capital is in process. “It will work as a network, where the radio stations of Venezuela will be connected with their partners in Colombia and these at the same time with Ecuador, Nicaragua and other countries of the continent, just to put an example, to give a cohesive message,” she explained.
Salcedo agrees with many experts consulted like Fernando Buen Abad, who thinks this is the only way for information to arrive. Salcedo added that the Radio of the South will have a team of correspondents and translators, who guarantee that what goes on in the world will be broadcast in different languages.
The initiative is included as part of an attempt to build a new world order in information and it should be directed to nurture solidarity, union among countries, educate our people, learn about other places and respect each other, said Salcedo. The Radio of the South, added, will have cooperation programs between the states involved for the exchange of information and communications technologies, as well as the professional training of personnel in the communications area. As an example she cited the recent signing of an agreement between the national Radio of Venezuela and Vietnamese radio stations.
“We want to make people understand that we all have very close ties. The goal is for listeners hear to information coming from Vietnam and realize that it is not a distant or unreachable country, but rather that is very close to us and willing to express its solidarity and help in a reciprocal way,” she said. The agreement, she added, will let the network have news correspondents in Asia, and without investing a lot of money will strengthen the main idea of the project to “bring together the global south,” she said.
(Source: Prensa Latina/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)
