On a continent such as Africa, where the level of illiteracy is alarming, the population hardly has access to information. Since the newspapers are only accessible to the schooled elite, the community radio stations play an important role in the citizens’ education.  Développement et Paix, a non-governmental organization, has well understood the situation and, with the help of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), has helped for the development, and still supports, and important Senegalese radio station.

Senegal is mainly a calm country, and it is one of the most democratic country of Africa. On the other hand, everything is not perfect. First of all, Senegal remains a very poor country. Moreover, some citizens have realized that, in the beginning of 1990, the civil society became less important on the public level.

"Radio stations were getting more and more commercial or in the pay of political leaders. At that time, Développement et Paix was already in this country and some people came to see them, expressing their desire of setting up a community radio in Pikine, a large but poor region in Dakar", explains Danielle Gobeil, assistant director of Développement et Paix international program services.

In 1993, the Quebec non-governmental organization has finally decided to give financial and technical support in order to develop a community radio station called Radio Oxyjeunes."The Senegalese group who has initiated the project had to be very patient since it has gotten a frequency and a network operating licence in 1998 only. On the other hand, during all these years, the group has worked really hard. The members of the group have done all the mobilisation and sensitization in the population", indicates Mrs Gobeil.

Concerns of a population
Radio Oxyjeunes is not only a community organization on paper. In fact, the radio station is managed by local organizations, which influence, on various levels, the different social components: women groups, development associations, cultural and sports associations, informal trade associations and elders.

"They decide of the programming and other radio activities. The programs talk about the concerns that the population has, such as political, security and sanitary conditions stakes, etc. Radio Oxyjeunes tries to promote the citizens’ participation by giving information, by trying to instigate consideration and develop analysis abilities", explains Mrs Gobeil.

For example, since a couple of years, Radio Oxyjeunes talks a lot about the subject of clandestine immigration. "It is one of the major preoccupations of the Senegalese population. Many youths leave the country in pirogue in order to reach Spain’s embankments. This trip is very dangerous and many of them die during the adventure. It is the youths of the poor regions who leave the country in order to have a better life. In these programs, they talk about what could be done in order to keep these youths in the country, to get them back to school and to have them work. A lot of sensitization is done in order to eliminate this immigration", says Mrs Gobeil.

Moreover, Radio Oxyjeunes is preparing a number of special programs about the elections, which will be held in Senegal this fall. "The radio managers want to organize meetings with the candidates in order to make sure that the population’s concerns will be taken into account during the election campaign. Radio Oxyjeunes will also do some sensitization to make sure that the citizens will vote", adds Mrs. Gobeil.

An example for Africa
If Développement et Paix supports Radio Oxyjeunes since a certain time, it is because the community radio has always proved its impressing potential and wonderful achievements. Even after winning several important rewards at the African Radio Festival of Bamako, in Mali, only a couple of months after being on air, Radio Oxyjeunes has served as a model on the African continent.

"The youths who have initiated the radio station had a very modest beginning. On the other hand, they have rapidly gained credibility in Dakar, especially when they have created a schooling radio for the persons who were interested in creating a community radio in the country. Rapidly, their credibility spread in Senegal and on the African continent. They are now specialists, which is an important resource in the community radio field", says Mrs. Gobeil.

Radio Oxyjeunes has largely contributed to the development of a community radio network on a national range. Moreover, community radios based on the same type as Radio Oxyjeunes have been launched in Congo Democratic Republic, and similar initiatives are actually taken in Guinea.

Difficult to survive
Even if Radio Oxyjeunes has a great success, their survival is not easy. "The funds that we are giving them, added to their modest financing activities, allow them to keep going, but in precary conditions", explains Mrs. Gobeil.

In fact, most of the persons involved in this project are volunteers and only a couple of them are remunerated. It is difficult to make sure that there is staff stability. "The youths that we train generally become very good and most of them receive job offers with better work conditions in the private field, so they generally quit the community radio, explains Mrs. Gobeil. On the other hand, we are sure that the persons who have been sensitized to the stakes that we are defending will continue to do citizen education, even in the context of commercial radio."