Radio Itinerante

Overview

Radio Itinerante, as the name suggests, is a mobile radio station, which Ucizoni sets up in different communities for a week at a time providing a focal point for discussion of important issues that affect the local communities.

Given a space to install the station for the week by the local council, Ucizoni members start broadcasting at 5am each morning, to reach the farmers as they get ready for work.  Broadcasting music and pre-recorded programmes covering issues of local importance such as women’s rights, agriculture, natural resource protection and health, they also invite members of the community to come to the station and participate in debates on these issues, with the aim of encouraging the community to work together to respond to the challenges they face.

About the project

Issues such as the arrival en masse of genetically-modified corn from the United States have had negative consequences for the many villages in the area, where farmers who have relied on corn cultivation for their livelihood for hundreds of years are now finding their crops priced out of the market.  Radio Itinerante seeks to bring people together to discuss how to respond to these and other challenges and to promote awareness of people’s rights and of the options available to people in these situations.

Standing for Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Norte del Istmo, or the Union of Indigenous Communities in the North of the Isthmus, Ucizoni is an indigenous organisation that has been working for over 25 years to promote indigenous peoples’ rights in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.  They are part of a struggle for equality and justice that the indigenous people of Southern Mexico have been fighting for over 500 years.

Main Objectives

Promoting issues including indigenous people’s rights, women’s rights, alcohol abuse and protection of local natural resources from exploitation.

Our Role

RadioActive are proud to have had the opportunity to work with Ucizoni, in this case providing equipment and technical assistance for their Radio Itinerante project.  We look forward to working with them again in the future.  If you speak Spanish and are interested in volunteering with Radio Itinerante, please get in touch.