100 years of radio in Africa
On Tuesday, December 18th, 1923, the first radio broadcast in Africa hit the airwaves. An orchestral recording of German composer Felix Mendelssohn was transmitted from the Railway Headquarters in Johannesburg, marking the first recorded history of radio on the African continent.
Today, radio is still the most popular medium in Africa, and it’s where the majority of the continent gets their news, information, and entertainment.
For World Radio Day, we produced a podcast episode entitled Dear Radio, where we share four personal stories about radio in Africa.
For Munira Kaoneka, radio provided the soundtrack for her yearly family road trips to their ancestral home in the Usambara mountains of Tanzania.
Nduka Orjinmo takes us back to the day when rumors of Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha’s death spread like wildfire. The only way for him to be sure was to tune into the BBC on his father’s old Sanyo radio.
In Kenya, late-night talk radio shows helped Onyango Otieno escape his troubled life at home.
In our final story, radio host Julie Kilama shares how as a young teen in Uganda, a life-changing experience with radio shaped her dreams and took her on an unexpected journey.
At Radio Workshop, youth reporters take to the airwaves each week, harnessing the power of radio and podcasts to get communities speaking about what matters most. Today, on World Radio Day, we’d love you to share these stories highlighting radio’s impact.
Thank you for your ongoing support of radio in Africa,
Yumna Martin, Board Chair
Linda Barnett, U.S. Friends Chair
Emmanuelle Parr, U.K. Friends Chair