Radio show on government accountability
Delhi based anti-poverty network Wada Na Todo Abhiyan has launched a radio series Haq Hamara Wada Tumhara, focusing on the policy promises of the Indian government. Co-produced by OneWorld South Asia, its rousing and energetic theme song reflects the true spirit of the campaign.
New Delhi: A radio programme on the policy promises of the government and related civil society initiatives was launched as part of the global mobilisations on October 17, 2008, the International Day for Poverty Eradication.
- Hear the programme on audio content bank Ek Duniya Anek Awaaz
The half-an-hour programme titled: Haq Hamara Wada Tumhara, aired every alternate Friday on AIR FM Rainbow (102.6 MHz), is a joint initiative of Wada Na Todo Abhiyan and OneWorld South Asia and will cover a wide range of policy issues.
Wada Na Todo Abhiyan is a national campaign to hold the government accountable to its promise to end poverty, social exclusion and discrimination.
The title track of the programme written, sung and composed by youth from Darjeeling is an added attraction.
Lysa John, National Coordinator, WNTA said, “The programme reflects the true spirit of the campaign and the passion of our friends from Darjeeling for the cause.”
Making the public aware
The first episode focused on the promise to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and featured interviews of Ashok Bharti, Chairman, National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) and Minar Pimple, Deputy Director, UN Millennium Campaign Asia. The experts discussed the outcomes of the recently held UN High-Level Event on MDGs.
The Stand Up pledge was read out by a 12-year old student exhorting the listeners to Stand Up and Take Action against poverty and to hold their governments accountable to their promises.
“The feedback was overwhelming and we realised that irrespective of the language of the lyrics, the title song has a very global feel to it,” she added.
The theme song’s energetic music especially targeted at the youth, describes a dream of the change that can enlighten every household and village and can be ushered in by getting together to act on unfulfilled promises.
“The idea behind the programme is to capture the promise made by the policymakers on securing livelihood and providing basic opportunities related to health and education to every citizen,” said Pasang D Lepcha from WNTA.
Talking about the forthcoming episodes of the programme, Pasang said, “Apart from roping in civil society representatives, it will be our earnest attempt to bring more people from the government to speak on the flagship schemes on education, health and employment. This would help in generating public awareness on monitoring the promises to meet these objectives.”
