A Laudable UNESCO Initiative

Next Monday (13^th February 2023) is World Radio Day.

The theme for this 12^th incarnation of this significant annual event in the radio calendar is ‘Peace’.

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/world-radio/radio-peace

The various dedicated publications and broadcasts surrounding the day across Europe will focus, for obvious reasons, on the current war on the doorsteps of the EU, on what the EU and its member states can do to end the conflict and alleviate the suffering, and on the role of radio in conflict-resolution. This year, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is offering an educational package to radio stations around the world including, recordings of songs and didactic materials aimed at peace, dialogue and tolerance.

https://www.ebu.ch/music/world-radio-day

The WRD event recalls the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Constitution, which reads: “ […] since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” (Constitution of UNESCO. Adopted in London on 16 November 1945).

The minds of men (and women) are always open to radio, and the Russian war in Ukraine is also fought on the airwaves, like all such conflicts. It is, therefore, useful, on the occasion of WRD, to bring to mind the indispensable need for independent, objective radio which can fight propaganda and counter ‘fake’ news.

Several stations will be celebrating the day with special transmissions. High on my list of priorities will, once again, be the SAQ special VLF (Very Low Frequency) broadcast on 17.2kHz from the historic Alexanderson Alternator at Grimeton, Sweden, from 1430-1530 UTC.

https://alexander.n.se/en/9967

There will also be a special broadcast by the Swedish DX Federation via Channel 292

(Germany) 1000-1100 and 1400-1500 UTC on 9670kHz.

(Additional information courtesy of BDXC).