Aceh Emergency Broadcast Programme

A Rapid Response Communications System for Aceh disaster relief
Context and Issue: 

The 26 December Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami devastated coastal regions of several countries, but it was most brutal in Aceh, the northernmost province of Sumatra, Indonesia. Approximately 180,000 people were killed in Aceh province, buildings along hundreds of kilometers of coastline were destroyed, and 500,000 people were made homeless. The media of Aceh was not spared in the disaster. Most of the media outlets in Aceh were destroyed by the tsunami and media staff who survived were traumatized and in dire need of the most basic help, as was the rest of the population. Radio is a vital source of information in Aceh; this media sector was particularly hard hit in the disaster. On December 27, 2004, Internews put in action an emergency response team comprised of senior program, development, and administration staff from Jakarta, East Timor, Bangkok and Washington. During the assessment mission, it became immediately evident to Internews and other media development organizations that there was an urgent need to rebuild the media in order to inform Acehnese about the massive emergency response that was already in operation, involving aid organizations from around the world.

Project's activities: 

The project aimed to improve the quality and quantity of humanitarian information reaching tsunami-affected communities. Internews worked closely and in partnership with the local radio stations of Aceh, providing equipment and training to 30 stations to ensure that they could play their rightful role as sources of reliable rehabilitation and reconstruction information coming from international relief operations for all Acehnese, including the hard-to-reach 500,000 Internally Displaced Persons. Through a sub-grant to the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Internews worked with print journalists covering Aceh to help them produce in-depth articles focusing on everything from where the aid money has been spent to how individuals who have lost everything can find the strength –and resources – to carry on. The Aceh Emergency Broadcast Programme boosted the damaged and weak infrastructural capacity of radio stations in the region, the weak local journalistic and production capacity to meet the information needs of affected populations and the technical capability of affected communities to receive information.

Participants and Beneficiaries: 

In January 2005 Internews Europe in partnership with the Indonesian Private Broadcast Radio Association (PRSSNI), and the Indonesian Press and Broadcasting Society (MPPI) started to expand the broadcast reach of the emergency radio station in Banda Aceh. Internews also played the pivotal media coordinator role on behalf of the United Nations Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This emergency radio initiative allowed a vast public across Aceh to hear about the rebuilding process, where other media (newspaper and TV) lacked the reach or proficiency to serve that role. Internews’ radio program provided urgent health, safety, shelter and livelihood information at a critical time.

Outcomes: 

The project achieved its main objective - allowing affected populations to access the informations they needed - through several tangible successes : the construction of a satellite radio distribution network; a digital satellite receiver distribution; the production of Peuneugah Aceh ('News From Aceh') program; broadcasting of an Emergency Radio Service to the entire province; providing equipment and training to 30 local radio stations and training of local radio and print journalists in production and journalism coverage of complex disasters.

“I know that this studio used to be a garage. But I believe that from here you could open everybody’s eyes to help Aceh to be better in the future. Please don’t leave Aceh. We still need people that are able to help the Acehnese to move forward in the future through their radio programs. The world is in this garage!”
Pr. Yusni Sabi, Rector at Ar-Raniry (a State Islamic University in Banda Aceh)

PROJECT NEWS

 
2007.02.19
> Aceh Emergency Broadcast Programme

’’The Right to Know’’

Internews praised in Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery report...   Emergency Radio project for Aceh Disaster Relief Internews contirbuted to the information supply and creation of teh dialogue between communities. Improving Access to Radio networks are typically more durable in emergencies than other media such as television and newspapers. As a result, radio tends to become a key medium even if it was not popular before the disaster. In Aceh, initial efforts concentrated on getting basic facilities up and running and reliable information on air. The Internews work in the region had many strengths:
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