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“It is not enough for us adults to decide what the youth should listen to. Young people should tell us what they want to hear – and what they want to share with their peers,” said the UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Gary Lewis, speaking at a ceremony held in the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) University to mark the World Radio Day 2015 which focused on the theme of “Youth and Radio”. The event was organized jointly by UNESCO, UNIC and the IRIB University in Tehran on 15 February 2015.

Mr. Lewis added, “Radio has the power to contribute to the greater social inclusion of our young generation. We need to promote greater participation of youth in radio, not only as listeners, but also as producers and broadcasters and creators of content.”

The power of radio to contribute to inclusion of the youth was also emphasized by Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director and Representative of UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office . “To be more inclusive, broadcasters need to work harder to improve participation and inclusion of young people along three levels: radio produced for young listeners, radio programs including young people, and radio produced by young people,” said Ms. Laroche, adding, “Only through linking generations can radio live up to its potential as an inclusive vector of culture, education and information.”

In this context, Ms. Laroche referred to a recently published UNESCO toolkit – Linking Generations through Radio – which provides inclusive examples to allow exchange of ideas between young people and increase awareness of radio producers and managers about ethical and legal requirements particularly when working with minors. She announced that UNESCO, in partnership with the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO and other national partners, is planning to organize a training workshop in the near future for young radio producers and broadcasters, using the radio toolkit, in order to further enhance the national capacity on youth radio programming and policy-making.

The idea of training and building the capacity of young radio producers and managers was welcomed and indicated as a need and priority by Dean of IRIB University Dr. Gholarezaei in his remarks at the ceremony.

Ms. Dotsenko briefed the audience about opportunities to engage with the UNIC in Tehran and invited future radio and television journalists to visit UN Office and to take part in the Model UN Conferences, outreach briefings and to conduct radio and TV interviews with other senior officials from other UN agencies, funds and programmes in Iran.

Also a keynote speaker at the ceremony was the Secretary General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, who underlined the importance of community radios in creating debate among young members of local communities in speaking out about their needs and priorities and their local solutions to issues of sustainable development.

Photo: World Radio Day ceremony in IRIB University. From left to right: Ms. Maria Dotsenko, Public Information Officer, UNIC; Mr. Gary Lewis, the UN Resident Coordinator; Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director and Representative, UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office; Mr. Saeed Sarabi, Director of International Cooperation & Partnerships, IRIB University