Cultural Survival bringing together indigenous radio stations in Guatemala

A new radio project has been established in Guatemala, thanks to a partnership between the U.S.-based NGO Cultural Survival and 168 indigenous community radio stations across the country. The wireless networking phase of the project has now been launched, laying the groundwork for the electronic programming of content and sharing of information.

Project coordinator César Gomez says of the initiative: “Community radio is a medium that serves to face the phenomenon that is called globalization, allowing us to protect our language, way of thinking, and culture.”

According to Cultural Survival: “The project’s goal is to build a network among these stations and help them produce programming that will reinforce indigenous culture and give people the means to fully participate in their national government. The project is helping stations broadcast professional-quality news, information, education, and entertainment for all of the country’s eight million indigenous citizens - in their own languages.

The project has four broad strategies: reform the nation’s telecommunications law to make the stations legal; train station volunteers to produce professional programming and pass on their expertise to others; upgrade the stations’ equipment; and help the stations and the project as a whole become self-sustaining within five years.”

To learn more about the project, click here