Over the course of two weeks, the Prometheus Radio Project, which is based in the United States and was founded by former radio pirate, Pete Tridish, conducted workshops for the United African Alliance Community Center in many aspects of audio engineering, radio production and programming.  The workshops were led by a  team of radio engineers and producers based in the United States and South Africa and included Pete Tridish, Kate Coyer, Christina Dunbar-Hester, Erik Hoversten and Brother Molefi from the community radio station RASA (make some noise)FM in Soweto, South Africa.  check out more about Prometheus Radio Project at:
www.prometheusradio.org
Film makers, Sisters Jamese and Serenah, were here with Prometheus, filming the whole experience.  Both sisters are from Scribe Video, in Philadelphia and they plan to make a documentary about the the building of the community radio station!  Check out more about www.scribe.org

 
Brother Molefi, from South Africa, stresses a point during the
workshop with Prometheus Radio Project 
Photo courtesy of Sister Jamese of Scribe Video Project  August 2005

 The sisters were also here to find effective ways to build working coalitions between youth and other progressive minded brothers and sisters here in Tanzania, in America and all over the world.

They were happy to witness the high level of consciousness among youth here in Arusha and praised the strong hip hop community of artists emerging in Tanzania and Africa in general.

Pete Tridish, founder and director of Prometheus Radio Project at UAACC sharing his knowledge with some of the participants from Aang Serian who attended the workshops with UAACC volunteers. 
Photo courtesy of Kate Coyer  August 2005

Prometheus Radio Project's mission is "to support and build community radio stations and to serve as a micro radio resource center offering legal, technical, and organizational support for the non-commercial community broadcasters"

Prometheus Radio Project is a not for profit association dedicated to the democratization of the airwaves through the proliferation of non-commercial, community based, micro power radio stations.  "It is our belief" says Petri "that access to communications for all citizens is at the heart of a democratic society."

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UAACC/KUJI
Radio distribution project in AruMeru!

 Pictured below are some of the UAACC Family of volunteers who received some of the one hundred and fifty FM Autoscan radios with earphones being presently distributed in Imbaseni Village and beyond, as a part of the UAACC/KUJI Foundation Community Radio Distribution Project.

Brother Amos, a fine arts student at UAACC, tries his hand at interviewing some of the
children in the community.

Sister Kekou, a well known rapper in A Town and UAACC artist is using what she's learned in the workshop to conduct an interview
 

There was drumming and dancing to mark the occasion.

...and Charlotte and Kate (from Prometheus Radio Project)
planted a tree in memory of the day.

There were plenty of hands available to raise the antenna up into its second, permanent position.

Presently, our main focus will be to serve the AruMeru community, giving an empowering voice to those in villages, especially women and youth, who normally would not have the opportunity or the means to voice their concerns and ideas relevant to their rural lifestyles.

It is true that radio coverage is these days universal to the majority of the nation whether they are urban centers or distant rural villages.  Radio remains the most popular and affordable medium throughout Africa.

UAACC volunteers, Brother Sam Obae and Brother Ali Kwele mix it up in the UAACR studio at the end of a fruitful couple of weeks of workshop!
Photo courtesy of Sister Jamese

We realize  that empowerment comes not just from being able to make one’s personal voice heard for great distances over the airways, but also personal power is increased simply through learning and absorbing new ideas and ways of doing things in the global community.