Main Activity
Citizen media has the power to balance mainstream information and offer citizens an opportunity to express their own point of views. Community radio stations are therefore an important tool of citizen media within a democratic society. To carry out this activity, AMARC Japan is planning G8 2008 Radio Forum against the backdrop of the upcoming 2008 G8 Summit from July 7th - 9th. During the 10 days from June 30th - July 9th, 20 international radio activists will cover activities around the official summit such as the Alternative G8 Summit, the Indigenous Peoples Summit, demonstrations and citizen workshops. Unforeseeable, spontaneous activities will be given special consideration (such as the Clowns Army that stirred up the 2007 G8 Summit in Germany and drew lots of attention). The produced radio programmes will broadcast on local community radio stations in Hokkaido and other locations in Japan and live-streamed through the website found at http://www.g8-radioforum2008.org. The website will offer opportunities to download audio files collected throughout the week. Over 3,000 AMARC member community radio stations worldwide will be able to download and broadcast multilingual audio files dealing with issues around the G8 Summit. G8 2008 Radio Forum is the first coordinated alternative media centre established in Japan. AMARC Japan wants to prove that an alternative media exists within Japan that gives voice to a voiceless civil society.
Objectives of the G8 2008 Radio Forum on International Level
Participants will mainly come from two areas: 1. Radio activists from the G8 member countries to create balanced media coverage and broadcast a citizen’s point of view in contrast to the mainstream media inside the G8 member countries. 2. Radio activists from developing countries where topics related to human rights and poverty are important issues, demanding the incorporation and implementation of those topics into the G8 agenda. The gathering of AMARC members will foster an understanding and analyses of local issues pertaining to journalists home countries and give them the opportunity to develop holistic views and counterstrategies. AMARC members will gain motivation for their activities by realizing that there is an international cultural of activism. The significance of community radio will be further explored as a medium in regions where television broadcasting and internet access is underdeveloped, serving as a tool to enhance communication within the community. The creation of networks among radio stations will be stimulated to exchange issues and gain international weight. This will be an important measure for the creation of a global conscience for existing international problems.
Objectives on National Level
On a Japanese national level, the G8 Radio Forum is expected to play a crucial role for the development of community radio. At present there are three Japanese member radio stations of AMARC. The first was Kyoto Sanjo Radio Cafe that joined in 2005. In 2006, Radio FM YY became a member. This radio station began as a means to broadcast multilingual emergency information after the Great Kobe Earthquake in 1995. The third AMARC Japan member is the radio station of Ainu Japanese indiginous people called Radio FM Pipaushi. More than 200 low-powered radio stations exist in Japan but large scale broadcasts of social issues are still rare and networks are underdeveloped. At the 9th World Conference and General Assembly of AMARC in Jordan (November 2006), Japanese low-powered radio stations were criticized as serving mainly entertainment and commercial purposes while only ten percent were taking up social topics. Through the G8 Radio Forum, AMARC Japan seeks to encourage closer ties between activists within Japan by information exchange, co-productions and exchange of programmes (shared programming amongst different stations) and therefore foster the public to realize the necessity of community radio stations. Through exchange with international activists, community radio stations within Japan will raise the social consciousness for social problems that are under-represented by Japanese media including gender, peace, environment, disaster prevention, human rights and poverty reduction. There will be a special focus on minorities considering the Indigenous Peoples Summit taking place at the same time as Radio Forum and the G8 Summit.
Side Activities to the Radio Forum
The majority of the journalists who will come together at the G8 Radio Forum 2008 are activists within their community striving for social change by empowerment of the people. We are planning one workshop, one seminar, and one round-table to offer opportunities to exchange experiences.