Research project
RADIO: Programming Peace
- Start date: 31 March 2023
- End date: 31 August 2024
- Funder: The British Academy
- Primary investigator: Dr Ariana Phillips-Hutton
- External co-investigators: Dr Maureen Syallow; Dr Lucy Mandillah; Dr Fabien Cante
Description
This project explored the work of community radio stations and journalists in promoting peaceful interactions in Nairobi, Kenya. We were particularly interested in the dual nature of radio, both as a way to sow social division (as was evident in the 2007–2008 political violence in Kenya) and also as a way to promote social solidarity, and potentially even peace.
The collaboration was structured around a multi-day in-person workshop that invited researchers and local participants from journalism and community peace organisations to explore the nature of peace made audible through the radio. This was hosted by the British Institute in Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. Following the workshop, we hired a recording studio in Nairobi to record a podcast-style radio segment that incorporated reflections from both researchers and workshop participants.
Through the generosity of our participants in the workshop we significantly expanded our understanding of community radio as a space of transmission, reception, and encounter when it comes to peace education in Kenya. This will feed into each of the researchers’ specific areas of expertise in gender, language, music, and urban community in productive ways.
Impact
The workshop provided key opportunities for individuals within the Kenyan radio community to make new connections and to strengthen professional networks. Participants from outside the community radio sector (e.g. representatives from the Mathare Social Justice Centre) found it especially useful to increase their networks by connecting with community radio producers.
Two of our participants specifically noted the importance of bringing women and issues of gender (including the threats of violence against female journalists) more fully into a conversation where senior male figures are present. This is an area that would be ripe for further funded research and has the potential to generate evidence for policy-makers in Kenya.