Digital Youth Voice: Radio A-Reality

Digitālā jaunatnes balss: kļūsti sadzirdēts!   

As we know, due to the pandemic, people were isolated, forced to spend a lot of time alone, work and study remotely.  Even now they are largely deprived of the opportunity to meet with friends, many of them feel rejected and depressed – people lose motivation and faith in their own strengths.  Needless to say, the reality of our disappointing situation is a profitable occasion, easily processed information material in the hands of the media.  All available television channels and radio waves are teeming with the theme of death, the theme of isolation, the theme of restrictions.  As the main consumers of the information flow, they saturate the youth with the theme of the futility of any initiatives and ambitions.  At the same time, we understand that young people should find opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions, find positive examples and like-minded people, and explore new opportunities to shape their lives.  In this regard, the problem of the lack of positive, really useful information channels has become a subject of discussion for our volunteers.  As a result of understanding our situation, we came to the conclusion that digital radio is one of the most relevant and modern forms of youth communication, which is developing throughout Europe and helps to reach out to young people in order to draw their attention to important and disturbing issues of society, especially in  pandemic time.

     Even before the submission of the project, we began to work hard on relevant and useful media content, as well as on the search for all kinds of options for its distribution.  With the help of digital radio and a self-made studio, we managed to record educational programs, podcasts, interviews, thus uniting young people from different cultures, nationalities, social groups.  Among other things, we recorded a number of topics and formats that were experimental for radio, in search of a way for an informal digital form of communication.

     Also, our team was involved in the creation of an LED performance within the framework of the Mandaria Land project, namely, the development of a plot and the creation of an audio fairy tale for performance.  In this regard, masters of theatrical art were invited to conduct seminars on the rhetoric of artistic speech, work with voice and intonations in audio performances.  Thus, we managed to expand and develop the qualifications of our speakers.  We have also interviewed many different members of society, creating thematic programs, listening to different opinions and thus contributing to the strengthening of social solidarity.

    We are really proud that our volunteers managed to provide, organize a channel of support, a positive example, which even at the moment helps people, especially young people, not to lose motivation, maintain communication with peers from different cultural and social backgrounds, and also strengthen communication internationally.  Level.

   We believe that with the help of digital radio, by creating educational programs, podcasts, interviews, it is possible to unite young people from different cultures, nationalities, social groups, and in the future unite young people not only in Latvia, but also to join the European digital radio network.

Co-financed by the European Union. This publication reflects only the views and opinion of the author, and not necessarily the opinion of the European Union, the European Commission or the National Agency (Youth International Programs Agency), which are not responsible for any use of the information contained therein