Afghan Youth Voices Festival

National broadcaster Salam Watandar plans to open its airwaves to aspiring journalists in early August, devoting a full week of programming to shows produced by a group of young students.
The programs will air on Salam Watandar’s network of 40-plus radio stations during the Afghan Youth Voices Festival, from August 4 to August 10.
The Youth Festival, an initiative of Internews Network, seeks to provide Afghanistan’s youth with an opportunity to express their ideas and dreams through different mediums such as radio and television.
Of the hundreds of youths participating in the festival, a group of 30 young students, aged between 14 and 20, opted to work in radio.
During six weeks of training provided by Salam Watandar in June and July, the youths learned interviewing techniques, moderating round table discussions, handling digital recorders, digital audio editing and studio operation among other skills.
The result was 13 hours of programming on a wide range of topics, from a women’s show on girls’ right to education to a health program about drug rehabilitation centers to interviews with young parliamentary candidates and a report on first-time voters.
“It was a pleasure to have the youngsters work in our newsroom and studios over the past two months and to learn that many have been inspired to pursue careers in broadcast journalism,” said Masood Farivar, Salam Watandar’s General Manager. “That so many young men and women would opt to work for Salam Watandar is a clear demonstration of radio’s enduring appeal to the youth.”
High School student Naveed Rasooli was coached by Salam Watandar Health Producer Fatima Ghazal in the production of a program about youth drug rehabilitation centers.
“Now I understand what radio is, what a radio station looks like,” Naveed said, adding that he now feels capable of producing his own program.
Sisters Farhnaz and Mahnaz Kakar who with the help of journalist Zarghona Roshan, produced a program on “girls’ right to education” also mentioned that they can now understand the full production process of a program, from selecting a topic to conducting interviews, recording in the field, writing and recording a script .
For young student Mina Sahrayee the experience has been a dream come true. “I always wanted to be a presenter or work in radio and now I am being trained here,” Mina said. “At first I didn’t know anything about radio or working in the media. Now I have learned many things”.