UN declared February 13 as World Radio Day; All India Radio is the largest in the world
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in/ Chandigarh
James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Rudholph Hertz, Mahlon Loomis, Guglielmo Marconi these are the names of legends who invented Radio-a medium of entertainment, a medium of education, a medium of information even in today’s hi tech world.
Guglielmo Marconi: an Italian inventor, proved the feasibility of radio communication. He sent and received his first radio signal in Italy in 1895. By 1899 he flashed the first wireless signal across the English Channel and two years later received the letter “S”, telegraphed from England to Newfoundland. This was the first successful transatlantic radiotelegraph message in 1902.
Earlier in 1860s: Scottish physicist, James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of radio waves; and in 1886, German physicist, Heinrich Rudholph Hertz demonstrated that rapid variations of electric current could be projected into space in the form of radio waves similar to those of light and heat.
In 1866: Mahlon Loomis, an American dentist, successfully demonstrated “wireless telegraphy.” Loomis was able to make a meter connected to one kite cause another one to move, marking the first known instance of wireless aerial communication.
Following a request from the Spanish Radio Academy on 20 September 2010, UNESCO’s Executive Board provisionally added “World Radio Day” on 29 September 2011.After wide consultation in 2011 with diverse stakeholders, 91% was in favour of this. So, on February 13 became World Radio Day.
At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. Radio serve diverse communities, offering a wide variety of programs, viewpoints and content, and reflect the diversity of audiences in their organizations and operations. This unique ability to reach out the widest audience means radio can shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard. Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity and constitutes a platform for democratic discourse.
Radio in India
All India Radio (AIR), officially known since 1956 as Akashvani (“Voice from the Sky”), is the national public radio broadcaster of India and is a division of Prasar Bharati. It was established in 1936. It is the sister service of Prasar Bharati’s Doordarshan, an Indian television broadcaster. Headquartered in the Akashvani Bhavan building in New Delhi, it houses the Drama Section, the FM Section, the National Service, and is also home to the Indian television station Doordarshan Kendra, (Delhi).
All India Radio is the largest radio network in the world, and one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world in terms of the number of languages broadcast and the spectrum of socio-economic and cultural diversity it serves. AIR’s home service comprises 420 stations located across the country, reaching nearly 92% of the country’s area and 99.19% of the total population. AIR originates programming in 23 languages and 179 dialects.
World Radio Day: Significance
The main purpose of observing World Radio Day is to make the public and the media aware about the importance of radio. It also encourages decision-makers to establish better access to information through this medium, improve networking and work towards building international cooperation among various broadcasters.
World Radio Day 2020: Theme
The theme of this year’s World Radio Day is ‘Radio and Diversity’. It brings the focus on diversity, linguistic tolerance and plurilingualism. Radio is a crucial medium to celebrate humanity, intercultural competence and democratic citizenship.
