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         SAGARMATHA:  THE HEAD IN THE HEAVENS

Mount Everest stands majestic, a pillar of the Himalayan kingdom
reaching to the skies.  No wonder its old Nepali name, Sagarmatha,
means the "head in the heavens."  We thought of this as a fitting
name for the new FM community radio station in Nepal.  This was to
be a very different kind of head in the heavens, an electronic
intelligence that spread messages of development through the skies
to the communities it served:  Radio Sagarmatha.

It was a new kind of adventure, for after the bloody clashes that
brought about the restoration of democracy and a new Constitution
guaranteeing freedom of expression in 1990, the Government enacted
a Communication Policy in 1992 which opened the way for private
sector broadcasting, and particularly for experimental,
educationally oriented FM stations of low power.  When Radio
Sagarmatha goes on the air, it will be the first private sector FM
radio in Nepal, and likely a first for many parts of Asia.

The new station will be organized and managed by a consortium of
four major NGOs:  the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists
(NEFEJ), the Nepal Press Institute (NPI), Himal Magazine and
Worldview International Foundation (WIF).  On their own, these NGOs
organized their own first seminar on community radio, in order to
learn from other projects who had experience in the field, in
particular Mahaweli Community Radio.  Upon advice from UNESCO and
several consultants from the region, Radio Sagarmatha took form, as
a studio was created on the 3rd floor of the NEFEJ building and a
conference room on the 4th floor, whose sessions could be
transmitted simultaneously.

A second training course sought to focus on interpersonal skills in
radio production, especially interviewing techniques and editing
magazine type programmes.  And a third course in advanced
production formats and editing was held, with the support of the
IPDC again, in July 1994.  IPDC funded these missions and the
purchase of additional field recorders and mixers.

Radio Sagarmatha will also have a special message, as it will focus
principally on issues of the environment: maintenance of the
forests and watersheds, cleanliness of water, elimination of
pollution, promotion of bio-diversity.

Nepal can be well proud of its new station.  Many in Nepal and
around the world await the first airwaves from "head in the
heavens!"

Carlos A. Arnaldo
Free Flow of Information Division
IPDC, UNESCO
                    ..........................
   This article is from InteRadio, Vol. 6, No.3., the newsletter
  of AMARC, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters.
      InteRadio is published in English, French and Spanish.

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                      Email: amarc@web.apc.org
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