Radio Salaam expanding operations in Batken

Internews press release, 10 August 2001

Radio Salaam, the youth radio station launched by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), the Foundation for Tolerance International and the Public Association Internews' in the Kyrgyz Republic in the Southern city of Batken in March 2001, is expanding its operations.

The station is not only broadcasting hourly news in Kyrgyz and Russian as well as Western, Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek and Tajik music, but also self-produced programs featuring all youth related aspects of social life in the region.

The programs currently broadcast by Radio Salaam are

Press Digest: A weekly review of local and international newspapers, 10 minutes each Saturday.

Batken:—Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: A socio-economic programme focusing on social, economical and cultural life of Batken and the region. Twice a month / 15 minutes.

Great Writers: A programme for school children focusing on foreign and Russian literature and using interesting facts from the lives of known writers. Twice a month / 15 minutes.

Two Roads: Programme about drugs and the dangers of substance abuse, using real evidence from Batken region (information from the Department of Internal Affairs, Department of Narcotics, street polls and interviews.) The listeners are left with objective information enabling them to make choices. Twice a month / 15 minutes.

My Unknown Friends: About the lives of youth from other regions, towns and neighbouring republics. Once a month / 20 minutes.

The School Bench: Relations between children, teachers and parents with the use of stories from the school environment and advises with the aim of improving the understanding between children and adults. Once a week / 10 minutes.

Popular Hit Parade: Music entertainment programme, where listeners create hit lists and raiding of popular modern music. Once a week / one hour.

The Morning Star: The programme is made with the help of children who likes to perform. The most interesting and best performances are broadcast in the programme. Twice a month / 15 minutes.

One Hour before Midnight: The guest and the host have a conversation on air. They talk about different topics relevant to young people. The listeners are invited to take part in the conversation. Once a day / one hour.

Field Mail: Music programme for soldiers, serving in Batken. The programme has interviews with soldiers, congratulation letters and humour. Once a month / 30 minutes.

Say Hello: Greetings and congratulations with calls to the studio from the listeners. Twice a day, in the morning and evening / one hour.

Salaam Mailbox: The programme is created with background in written requests and letters coming from villages in Batken region. Once a week / one hour. Bicycling volunteers are collecting the mail from mailboxes placed outside village schools.

Daily programs feature the following topics

A penny to the house: The radio station gives 10 KGS to a child who has to tell how he/she spent the money. The host together with listeners discusses economic issues. The purpose is to inform children about how to spend money in a responsible way.

Cooking Advises: How to create interesting dishes out of Batken products and other kitchen secrets.

Three Nuts for Cinderella: Targeting teenage girls about fashion, make up, trends etc. y Be Healthy: Hygiene, sanitation and healthy life style for children.

Your News: Children share with their peers news and events from their own lives.

Welcome Home: About family life

The Joker: Anecdotes and jokes on air.

The station will soon cooperate with the Voice Of America (VOA) on re-broadcasting some of their programs and will receive satellite equipment in return. Also, the manager of the station, Maksuda Aitieva, is planning to move the antenna into the nearby mountains to increase the outreach of the station, which right now is limited to a 23km diameter.

Radio Salaam cooperates with TV stations in Sokh (Uzbekistan) and Isfara (Tajikistan) in a regional news exchange. More than 40 volunteers support the staff of Radio Salaam in their attempts to make the 20 hours of broadcasting every day even better, even more interesting and more up-to-date. y While the situation in Batken seems to be quiet at the moment, Radio Salaam received a number of phone calls from Kyrgyz and International news agencies a few weeks ago when military actions were going on in the region. The journalists working for the station have pledged to distribute only objective and accurate information about the situation in the border region and none of the staff will comment on the military activities from a personal viewpoint.