radio

He was one of the UN’s very first staff members, and 72 years on, Robert Kaminker is still advocating for peace and the power of the organization to ultimately “save the world”.

Although he retired in the early 1980s, his enthusiasm for explaining how the UN works and can help people everywhere lead better lives, never waned.

At 90, he is still hosting a weekly radio show in his native France, called “L’ONU vous concerne”, which translates as “The UN Matters”.

Working as a female journalist in Afghanistan “is not easy” because it’s not safe, but many girls still decide to do it.

That’s what Sadaf Ahamdi, a member of the Afghan Women Journalists Union told Shamsuddin Hamedi of the UN Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA.

Ms Ahamdi was speaking with Mr Hamedi to mark International Women’s Day, recognised on March 8. The theme for this year’s event is “Women in the Changing World of Work”.

Radio can be used as a tool to enact great change, according to a journalist working with the United Nations radio station in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Sebit William Ker was speaking on the line from Juba about the importance of World Radio Day (WRD) as well as radio’s role in connecting people across the country.

The annual event celebrates radio as a powerful communication tool and a low cost medium.

Information is power in today’s world and even more so when working to reduce the risk of disasters, according to the UN Office for Disaster-Risk Reduction UNISDR.

When an earthquake or flood hits, a simple radio or televised message telling people where to go and what to do to stay safe can make a difference between life and death.

UNISDR is reaching out to the media in Central America and the Caribbean to encourage them to spread key messages about safety and prevention in times of emergencies.

A radio journalist from Azerbaijan is the winner of the 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

Khadija Ismaliyova will not be on hand to receive the award when it is presented this Tuesday in Helsinki, Finland, as she is in jail on charges relating to abuse of power and tax evasion.

The UN Human Rights High Commissioner has said that her trial allegedly failed to meet international standards.

In countries where a disaster is unfolding or a conflict is in full swing, radio makes a big difference, says the veteran in charge of UN Radio’s French Unit.

Jérôme Longué  has witnessed many crises in the course of his 18-year career.

He recently published a paper on the role of radio stations set up, or attached to, UN peacekeeping operations.

The success of the first major UN peacekeeping operation that involved radio, in Cambodia in 1992, led to the creation of dozens more, mainly in Africa.