The United Nations (UN)’s World Radio Day (WRD) is annually observed across the globe on 13th February to keep the popularity of radio alive and to promote the use of it among everyone.
The day also marks the anniversary of the establishment of the UN Radio service. UN Radio was established on 13th February 1946.
- 13th February 2022 marked the observance of the 11th edition of World Radio Day.
Theme & Sub Theme:
i.The theme of the World Radio Day 2022 is “Radio and Trust”
ii.UNESCO marks the observance of the WRD 2022 with 3 sub-themes,
- Trust in radio journalism: Produce independent and high-quality content;
- Trust and accessibility: Take care of your audience;
- Trust and viability of radio stations: Ensure competitiveness.
Objective of WRD:
- To raise public and media awareness on the value of the radio.
- To improve international cooperation between radio broadcasters.
- To encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radios.
Background:
i.In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) General Conference at its 36th session, adopted the resolution ‘36 C/Resolution 63’ and proclaimed the 13th February of every year as World Radio Day.
ii.The proposal of the WRD was put forward by the Kingdom of Spain and was first presented at the 187th session of UNESCO’s Executive Board.
iii.The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the A/RES/67/124 in 2012 and proclaimed the 13th February of every year as World Radio Day (WRD).
- The first edition of World Radio Day was observed on 13th February 2012.
About UN Radio:
i.The UN Radio made the first official broadcast on 13th February 1946.
Initially, the programmes of the UN Radio were broadcast in the UN’s initial 5 official languages: English, French, Chinese, Russian and Spanish and later followed by Arabic.
ii.By 1950, UN Radio was broadcasting in 33 languages.
iii.The UN peacekeeping missions started launching their own radio stations in 1980.
