Angola

Radio Projects - Studio N'Jango

The studio of SFCG in Angola is located on the office premises in the Kilamba-Kiaxi municipality. Currently, the studio works full time with 4 youth reporters and a media specialist. There is a production meeting every week, generally on Friday, where the subjects and themes are selected. Then, the work is distributed among the different youth reporters who bring back the audio material that has been collected in the following week. So far, the studio has produced more than 30 radio programs over the past quarter. These radio productions cover a variety of subjects such as school safety, parental abandon of children, prostitution, the use of drugs amongst youth, early and unwanted pregnancies, umeployment, youth violence, sexual harassment in schools, participation of youth in the democratic decision-making process, public probity of elected leaders, decentralisation, domestic violence, the role of youth in the actualisaiton of the electoral register, the right to citizenship and to basic social living conditions, women’s rights, the Leadership of women in Angola, the Women and their financial autonomy, etc. The radio production called “Baza Madie” uses several formats, including the roundtable, interviews, vox pop, magazines, and presentations. It is solely produced by the youth reporters.

Civil Society Empowerment

SFCG established a professional radio in Angola, Studio N'Jango, in early 2005 and produces programmes that are distributed to partner radio stations in Luanda and rural provinces. Through the Studio's radio programming and journalist outreach, SFCG multiplies the impact of its community outreach work by making its message available to wider audiences, including those without regular information access due to illiteracy or geographical isolation.

Journalism Training

Studio N'Jango offers training sessions focused on topics such as Intended Outcome Programming, interviewing techniques, reporting in conflict zones, and using civil society as sources for information. SFCG's also coordinates locally-based journalists in four provinces who work directly with partner radio stations to impart SFCG's "Common Ground Journalism". In addition to building the capacity of Angolan journalists across the country through such training participatory engagement, the studio produces weekly radio programming to help expand and diversify th current media landscape in Angola.

Baza Madie

"Baza Madie" (local youth slang for "Let's Go!") is a thirty-minute magazine programme that targets Angolan youth between the ages of 15 and 25. The programme features a team (equally divided by gender) of youth journalists who come from differen backgrounds. Baza Madie is broadcast weekly on RNA national radio in five provinces, as well as on independent Radio Eccelsia in Luanda. To date, Baza Madie has discussed issues such as youth empowerment, street gangs, youth violence, HIV/AIDS, and the challenges and opportunities associated with education and employment. Since its launch in 2005, the programme has been produced by the youth journalist interns under the guidance of Studio N'jango's professional staff. As members of the Studio N'jango team, and using the Common Ground Approach, the interns employ a variety of creative tools, designing each programme around a specific issue or subject relevant to the lives of young people in Angola, including the HIV/AIDS stigma, the increased incidence and possible causes of theft and petty crime, domestic violence, and new technical education opportunities for unemployed youth. The strategy is based on an edutainment model, seeking to inspire both behavioural and attitudinal change, break down barriers, and catalyse dialogue by informing and entertaining youth and adult audiences.

N'syeto

In 2006 SFCG produced a radio programme dedicated to cultural history and traditions in Angola, with funding from the Norwegian government. Studio N'Jango began producing the 15-minute cultural programme entitled "N'syeto" ("Our land" in Kikongo), which explored the rich cultural and historical traditions of Angola, aiming to promote culture as a source of common ground. SFCG gathered programme content through joint identification of source material in partnership with experts in Angola's National Archives. The series' main messages aimed to reinforce the notion that Angolans share a common history as well as a vibrant cultural heritage, and that as compatriots, they can learn and celebrate together, moving beyond ethnic, regional, and political divides. Groups featured included the Bakongo, Ovimbundu, Chokwe, and Umbundu tribes. Specific programmes addressed musical and other cultural traditions; traditional beliefs about witchcraft, the family, and the tribe; and historical sources of knowledge, including the role of memories and oral history in forming identity. The series not only sought to preserve the traditions of the various ethnic groups in Angola, but also sought to preserve valuable cultural heritage sites vital to those groups. In a country of increasing urbanisation and decreasing ethnic identity, N'syetu's programmes served to celebrate and foster understanding of Angola's cultural and historical diversity.

O Jogo

Another radio program, "O Jogo" ("The Game") demonstrated how common interests can bring people together from seemingly opposing communities or differing backgrounds. The experiences and challenges of the two main characters demonstrated a microcosm of the challenges facing Angola as a whole, while the characters' ability to put their differences aside to celebrate success on the football pitch shone a light on how Angola could take positive steps to heal its own wounds. The main objectives of the programme included fostering tolerance and raising understanding between different socio-economic groups in Angolan society; opening space for dialogue and discussion between individuals with opposing opinions; and promoting alternative, non-violent means of resolving conflict. While it focused particularly on the World Cup, the series capitalised on the popularity of football in Angola more generally, as a means to promote the concept of a national Angolan identity – a concept sorely lacking after 30 years of war. Furthermore, "O Jogo," along with a similar-themed soap opera in Cote d'Ivoire, has served as a pilot that has launched an organizational strategy of using the World Cup as a tool for peacebuilding. SFCG is looking to expand the concept into ten different countries using TV and radio in the run-up to 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

SFCG Angola thanks the following donors for their support