[cma-l] RCT Community Radio Project Evaluation Report Launched

[CMA-L]

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From: Andrew Jones <andrew at vistaradio.co.uk>

News Release

Thursday 27th November 2008

Report hails impact of Valleys community radio project

A series of volunteer-led radio stations in three South Wales Valley
towns has boosted community spirit and increased the skills and
confidence of local residents, according to an independent evaluation
report.

The RCT Community Radio project has been funded by Communities @One
(http://www.communitiesatone.org/) to engage people with ICT in fun
and practical ways, by encouraging them to set up and run FM and
internet broadcasts in their area.

The three participating communities – Treherbert, Penrhys and Penywaun
– have each completed two month-long 'RSL' broadcasts on stations
known respectively as 'Radio CwmNi', 'Rhys Radio' and 'Dapper FM'.
Eighty-four volunteers have received informal training in skills that
were required to research, produce and present content for live radio
programmes.

A report that evaluates the project is being formally launched at the
Senedd, Cardiff Bay on Thursday 11th December by Rhondda AM Leighton
Andrews, representatives of the project and the Wales Co-operative
Centre, which has administered the Communities @One initiative on
behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. The report is believed to
represent one of the most in-depth studies to date, on the 'social
gain' benefits of the UK community radio sector.

The RCT Community Radio project has attracted a diverse group of
volunteers, many of whom were unlikely to ever attend formal ICT
courses, but who became motivated by working in an informal
environment on an initiative that became a valuable resource for
residents, local businesses, charities and other agencies. Many of the
volunteers have had their first ever experience of ICT on the project;
some participants did not know how to switch a computer on, but have
gone on to use the available equipment and training to contribute to
live broadcasts in a fully-digital environment.

The project has been the subject of publicity locally, around Wales
and within the radio industry. Communities @One nominated the project
in the digital literacy category of the European e-Inclusion Awards,
while key volunteer and outreach worker Sharon Morris won a NIACE
Dysgu Cymru Adult Learner Award and was a finalist in the 2008 Welsh
Woman of the Year Awards.

Community Anchor Organisations (CAOs) in each area have supported the
project by providing venues and other facilities to host the radio
studios and offices. The CAOs included the Penywaun Enterprise
Partnership, CwmNi (Treherbert) and the Penrhys Partnership.

Leighton Andrews AM said: "RCT Radio has stimulated community spirit
and activity in all the communities involved. It's been a great
success and I hope that we will see further developments in the
future".

Andrew Jones, Project Coordinator, RCT Community Radio project said:
"The project team has been bowled over by the response of the
communities it has worked with. So many people have wanted to get
involved in all sorts of ways and have fully embraced the idea of
community radio and made it their own. In a short space of time, the
project has become integral to the community and, as well as having
fun along the way, the volunteers have learned so much".

Simon Harris, Chief Executive, Wales Co-operative Centre said:
"Congratulations to all involved in the RCT Community Radio project on
the launch of its evaluation. The Wales Co-operative Centre has
maintained a close interest in the project's work and has been pleased
to see it develop through an organic process, with volunteers very
much at the heart. It is clear that the three stations have
reinvigorated the communities involved, which now have a desire to
develop plans for income generation through various aspects of
community radio".

The launch of the project's independent evaluation report coincides
with a two-week online broadcast of Radio CwmNi from December 1st –
14th, which can be heard at http://www.radiocwmni.co.uk. Copies of the
evaluation report can be downloaded from December 11th onwards on the
stations' websites http://www.radiocwmni.co.uk,
http://www.rhysradio.co.uk and http://www.dapperfm.co.uk. The report
has been produced by independent research company 'Three Day Week'.

ENDS

ANDREW JONES
VISTA RADIO

Consultants to the Community Radio sector

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