by Jacques da Matha

Introduction
"The population of black Africa is essentially rural and illiterate. It is characterised by oral tradition. It contributes to a large degree to the production of wealth of African countries, but does not participate in communication or information processes, and far less to decision-making processes.

For a long time, the African population was confined to the role of agricultural producer by the State-controlled power, which used the information media in its possession. Communication was vertical, and a one-way process.

Fortunately, over the years this situation evolved progressively with the modest involvement of populations, first in the information production process for the creation of rural radios, and subsequently in the management of such information through the gradual appropriation of local rural radios.

CIERRO, which is an offshoot of the Union des Radiodiffusions et Télévisions Nationales d'Afrique, URTNA (African National Radio and Television Broadcasters' Union), has played a significant role in this process of awareness, and in the creation of an environment conducive to the birth of a new order of information and communication from which the rural world will no longer be ostracised.

In this presentation, CIERRO's contribution will be illustrated on the basis of four points:

• an overview of CIERRO
• CIERRO's contribution to the development of rural radio in black Africa
• CIERRO's contribution to the emergence of local rural radio in black Africa
• the experience under way at CIERRO with the use of Information and Communication Technologies by local rural radios."

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