World Radio Day 2022: History, Theme and Significance
Radio has always been considered to be an authentic source of information as well as entertainment. This popular medium, with a huge outreach, has educated the masses about different topics through decades. Italian electrical engineer, Guglielmo Marconi, is said to have invented the radio in the 1890s. Associated with creation of a radio waves-based wireless telegraph system, Marconi sent and received a telegram in Italy for the first time in history in 1895, marking the first successful radio signal appearance. World Radio Day is celebrated annually to emphasize the importance of this popular audio medium.
How did World Radio Day come into existence?
The Spanish Radio Academy in September 2010 requested the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to establish a day to honour radio's significance across the world. UNESCO held extensive consultations with various broadcasting associations, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as UNESCO Permanent Delegations and National Commissions on this suggestion. A total of 91 percent of these people voted in favour of the proposition. It was then that the UNESCO Executive Board suggested that UNESCO declare a World Radio Day during its 36th general assembly session.
On the occasion of the anniversary of United Nations Radio, which was created by the United Nations on February 13, 1946, it was determined that the day would be observed every year on February 13. Since 2012, February has been designated as World Radio Day. This year is the 10th anniversary of this day. The University of Pisa in Italy celebrated the first World Radio Day.
What’s the theme for World Radio Day 2022?
Radio is still the most frequently used medium in the world. According to several international reports, it is one of the most trusted and widely utilised mediums in the world. Like every year, the 10th anniversary of World Radio Day is also being celebrated with a particular theme. ‘Radio and Trust’ is the theme for this year. This theme aims to uphold that radio has served as a correct and genuine medium of mass communication in the present day and age of fake news, mostly being circulated widely through social media platforms.
How is World Radio Day celebrated?
On the occasion of World Radio Day 2022, UNESCO invites radio stations around the world to commemorate this day. The celebrations around the world will also focus on three sub-themes:
- Trust in radio journalism: Produce independent and high-quality content
- Trust and accessibility: Take care of your audience
- Trust and viability of radio stations: Ensure competitiveness
A brief history of radio
As mentioned earlier, Marconi pioneered the use of radio in 1895. Marconi, along with German physicist, Karl Ferdinand Braun, went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909 for his path-breaking contribution to wireless telegraphy. Following Marconi, the first radio station in the United States of America was founded in Pittsburgh in 1919, and FM radio was introduced there in 1939. When radio streaming became available via the internet in 1994, radio broadcasting became digital. This was complemented by the launch of the first 24-hour internet-only radio station.