Pretoria - Radio still plays a prominent role as an affordable means of communication for all the people in the country, including underprivileged communities in remote parts of the country, says President Jacob Zuma.
The President said this on Friday when South Africa joined the international community to celebrate annual World Radio Day.
The day was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2011 to raise awareness about the importance of radio as a means of communication, particularly its accessibility and unique ability to bridge the communication divide in all parts of the world.
Radio is a dependable medium of information, education and entertainment, both for old and young people, which also advances the constitutional provisions of freedom of speech and expression.
This year’s World Radio Day was celebrated under the theme ‘Youth and Radio’. The goal is to encourage the greater participation of the youth in radio, not only as listeners but also participants in various roles such as producers, broadcasters and all other functions in radio.
The theme highlights the importance of youth involvement in radio to enhance greater social inclusion through this medium.
Community radio audiences grew to 8.6 million listeners by July 2014, which constitutes close to 30% of the total radio audience market share in the country. – SAnews.gov.za
