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II. Methodology


In the preparatory stage for the Workshop, a questionnaire was sent to the invited broadcasters in order to establish their needs and the general appraisal of their stations. The SDRE sent to them some documents and materials on the FAO Conference.

The Service sent to them fact-sheets, which it had requested various technical divisions to prepare, to present to them, and thus prepare them beforehand for the technical sessions.

The Workshop had two days of plenary sessions, i.e. the first day and the last day. During the plenary sessions of the first day, as an introduction to the Workshop, the results of the survey on information and communication needs were presented so that FAO technical experts would try to meet these needs and expectations during the five-day Workshop. Then, three presentations were made, each followed by questions, and reactions/comments from the audience. The plenary sessions of the final day were mainly conclusive sittings and included the inauguration of the Web site dedicated to rural and community radio (www...) and the presentation of the information and early warning service on food security by AMARC.

The remaining three days were dedicated mostly to technical sessions with heads and experts of various FAO divisions. These technical sessions were interactive and involved mutual exchanges between the FAO experts and the broadcasters. The technical sessions provided an opportunity for the broadcasters to relay the needs of their respective audiences on food security to the experts. In this way they acted as links between the FAO and the grass-root contacts (farmers, listeners, traders, etc). The broadcasters also received from the divisions, various publications and materials that could be helpful to them back home as references.

Evenings were dedicated to the coverage of the 31st. session of FAO Conference which was being held at the headquarters in Rome. This was accompanied by individual interviews, which the broadcasters conducted with selected FAO experts. Some broadcasters - courtesy of the GIIM division and AMARC - were able to fill-in these exercises by phone, to their stations back home.

Considering the difficulty in efficiency of and access to phone, e-mail and internet in African countries, the Workshop organizers also used in addition, traditional means like post and contacts through FAO representatives, to maintain contacts with the broadcasters.


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