Head of Asia Pacific welcomes FIRST Response trial
The head of the Asia-Pacific branch of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), Ashish Sen, says the FIRST Response training taking place in Bangalore this week is “the first step in the journey towards introducing mobile broadcasting in India for disaster management”. He was speaking to participants on the first day of the workshop which will culminate in a field trial in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. Ashish, who is also head of the Community Radio lobby group, VOICES, believes that community radio will be a powerful force for the development of communities in India and that they are on the threshold of the first station being granted a broadcast licence in the next few months. View video clip: ASHISH SEN ENDORSES FIRST RESPONSE INDIA TRIAL
Responding to disaster – by radio
Tonight participants begin gathering for the FIRST Response (FEB Immediate Radio Support Team) workshop in the city of Bangalore which will be followed by a live field trial in the tsunami-ravaged city of Nagapattinam. This is the second workshop and trial of its kind, the first (pictured) taking place in Legaspi city in the Southern Philippines which is prone to volcanic erruptions and the frightening phenomenon known as ‘lahar’.
