Guwahati – A week-long capacity building programme on integration of Community Learning Programme (CLP) in skill development for Community Radio leading to sustainability began at the Divine Word Centre, Borjhar near Guwahati airport, January 3.

The programme is being organized by the Dr Anamika Ray Memorial Trust (ARMT) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), New Delhi.

Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust, a Guwahati based registered educational and charitable nonprofit organization, is dedicated towards research and other development activities in the field of media, education, ethnic community, open and distance learning, communication for development and other related areas of media and social sciences.

“It is really important for us to understand that skill development and livelihood building are inter-related; hence this workshop is designed to skill the community radio to bring in all-round change in society,” said Director, Institute of Knowledge Studies and former adviser to the Ministry of Skill Development, Government of India Dr Chandrabhanu Pattanayak, in his inaugural address.

CEMCA Programme Officer Sanjogita Mishra said the programme would try to ensure the sustainability of the community radio stations and build a stronger social base of the radio stations.

Other dignitaries appreciated the efforts of the programme and stated the importance of employment generation among all the communities through profusion of the community radio stations.

The aim of the programme is to highlight the skill development concept and national agenda, concept mapping, message matrix, baseline survey, identify community skills and simplify the concepts of industry sectors and skill trainers while integrating the CLP with skill development.

Altogether 20 representatives from eight community radio stations from eastern India are participating in the programme and will exchange their views and make queries on communication of skill development and sustainability.

The participants are Radio Luit Guwahati, Radio Brahmaputra Dibrugarh, Jnan Taranga from Assam, Radio Snehi from Bihar, Radio Bulbul from Odisha, Radio Jadavpur University Kolkata and Radio Salesian from Sonada, Darjeeling, West Bengal, and Radio Integrated Community from Manipur.

Besides Dr Pattanayak, the inaugural session of the capacity building programme was also attended by vice chairman ARMT Mr RB Mahanta; CEMCA Programme Officer, New Delhi Sanjogita Mishra; ARMT Managing Trustee Dr Ankuran Dutta, former Head of Education Department at Assam Don Bosco University Dr Paul Pudussery, and Community Media Expert, New Delhi Devi Leena Bose.