Bua Fela is a tool for broadcasters who create radio for children and with children. It offers procedures based on the experiences gained by ABC Ulwazi during the Bernard van Leer Foundation funded “Speak Free” project. The Speak Free project was designed to create a broadcasting environment that allowed children to express themselves through community radio, share their experiences, tell the community what they are thinking, and to learn from each other.

According to the authors, Bua Fela offers the following:

• techniques for involving children in media production;
• sound advice for starting youth programmes at a community radio station;
• tips on how to get children talking;
• skills to give children in your community a voice of their own, to enable them to create their own media and develop their own stories;
• ways of reporting on, and ethically representing, children in the media;
• guidance for children to work with other children as a broadcasting team;
• case studies from the ‘Speak Free’ project as practical examples.

The guide has sections that can be photocopied and used directly. It also has checklists to help with the preparation and implementation of workshops.