MISA Lesotho commemorates World Radio Day
MOSA MAOENG
MASERU – Radio has the potential to dispel myths and misconceptions held on climate change by the rural communities, by constantly providing accurate and credible information. This is the key point in the statement issued by the Lesotho Chapter of Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Lesotho) yesterday (Thursday) in commemoration of the World Radio Day 2025. The theme for this year stated, “Radio and Climate Change” to support radio stations in their journalistic coverage of this issue.
World Radio Day is an international day celebrated on February 13 each year. The day was designated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on November 3, 2011 during its 36th conference.
The statement continues to highlight that there is dearth of dialogue on climate change to unpack its effects on open platforms, which in turn would receive national conceptual appreciation. There are little to no national forums, seminars and conferences organised to confer on the effects of climate change so that there is buy-in from members of the public.
“If these platforms were to unlock the innermost debates in Lesotho on climate change, they might trigger a coherent policy and legal framework on climate change. Though efforts have been made to engage the local media bout climate change, it hardly receives enough coverage on local radio stations, newspapers and television, as well as other mainstream media platforms,”
The statement further read that MISA Lesotho has, however, noticed regular coverage on climate change in some of the local media houses.
There are also other positive developments regarding climate change coverage in the newsrooms introducing the Climate and Environment Reporter in their editorial. The citizens, particularly at community level, have little knowledge and education about the climate change, which is often a mystified phenomenon in boardroom meetings. By constantly providing accurate and credible information, radio also undertakes civic education on the rural citizens. It has also been found to be at coalface of effective reporting on climate change, especially following the Paris Agreement, which was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21).
It entered into force in November 4, 2016.
Radio has the power to facilitate public opinion and set the agenda on climate change. It has also been found to be capable of playing the perception shaping function on climate change. It can create spaces for unpacking the various themes on climate change.
The ability of radio to create mental images and to evoke emotions has earned it the glory to be named the ‘Theatre of the mind’. It lacks visual ability, but relies on audio ability, radio complements by dramatising situations such as storytelling for the listener to create such images in his/her mind. It allows listeners to visualize the scenes that radio sets forth for them. MISA Lesotho has made a clarion call to all local radio authorities – proprietors, managers, editors, producers, anchors and reporters to prioritise and develop regular programmes on Climate Action.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay portrayed a message on the occasion of World Radio Day. She said World Radio Day is an opportunity to celebrate this enduring, versatile and widely accessible means of communication.
She said: “This year, we are paying tribute to the different ways in which radio serves as a tool for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate disruption in our rapidly changing world.”
She said last year, the world witnessed rare flooding in the Sahara Desert and the deadly Typhoon Yagi which struck South-East Asia. She noted that at a time when such extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common, the world must recognise the critical and often life-saving role of radio.
Azoulay said with frequencies that can travel across continents and receivers that use very little energy, radio can reach even the most remote locations and function even when electricity fails. She said this makes radio a unique medium in crisis situation; by acting as an early warning system, it can reduce disaster risk and save countless lives.
A UNESCO report published last year found that there had been 749 attacks including 44 killings against journalists and news media outlets reporting on environmental issues between 2009 and 2023, across all regions of the world.
