Community media serves as a powerful tool to amplify grassroots voices, foster local engagement, and catalyse social transformation. In India, where diverse communities often face barriers to mainstream representation, community media offers an inclusive platform for storytelling, advocacy, knowledge sharing, and, most importantly, learning.

CEMCA has played a pivotal role in advancing community media initiatives across the region with support from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. By supporting the establishment and capacity-building of community radio stations, CEMCA enables marginalised groups to share their narratives, access critical information, and participate in decision-making processes.

Strategic Focus Areas

Community Radio Awareness Workshops: This initiative, supported by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, empowers NGOs and academic institutions with training, technical resources, and content development strategies tailored to local needs so that they can easily set up their community radio stations.

Community Radio Video Challenge: This is an annual competition organised by CEMCA in partnership with UNESCO New Delhi Office. This is followed by a workshop on film making for the participating youth.

Yoga Campaign through Community Radio: This annual event is organised with support from the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India.

Listeners/Viewers-to-Learners: This project engages radio programme listeners as lifelong learners. In addition to exploring newer and novel methods of using audio content as learning material for skill development, livelihood generation, and behavioural change, it also looks at the role of traditional, emerging and web2.0 technologies in transforming listeners into learners.

CEMCA’s work demonstrates how community media can bridge information gaps, foster collaboration, and inspire action, ultimately contributing to more equitable and informed societies.