Picture Credit : Stefano Ravalli

The EBU will engage in a raft of activities involving public service broadcasters and other international and professional associations celebrating World Radio Day – proclaimed by UNESCO in 2011 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.

Appropriately, music will be at the centre of two key initiatives supported by the EBU.

To encourage Members to incorporate World Radio Day into their programme schedules, the EBU is offering a special concert to Members on February 13 through the Euroradio files exchange system and its Member, Radio France.

The concert by the French National Orchestra led by Daniele Gatti and recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, will feature Dvorák’s Cello Concerto in B minor and Mahler’s‘Titan’ Symphony No. 1 in D.

Radio France will also host a reception and a separate live classical concert co-organised by the EBU, UNESCO and the International Radio and Television Union (URTI) on behalf of the International Committee WRD, representing thirteen main audiovisual and telecommunications organizations worldwide.

The performance will take place at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, and feature four works by the Orchestre National de France under the direction of Ilan Volkov , and will be preceded by a series of short speeches that evoke the celebratory nature of the World Day of Radio.

In Brussels, radio content and devices fit for the 21^st century will be the focus of a lunchtime discussion led by the EBU’s European Affairs unit at its offices.

Rüdiger Malfeld of WDR Radio (Germany) will demonstrate the latest DAB+ radio broadcasting standard, which offers a direct route to hybrid radio services combining the benefits of free-to-air radio with the interactivity of Internet.

Tomas Granryd of Swedish Radio will showcase projects and programmes which bring the listener ever closer to the public broadcaster, exploiting the new possibilities offered by social networks, embedded players and hybrid radio to reach out and communicate with younger audiences.

EBU Media Director Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser says radio has proven itself to be a resilient media and remains one of the most accessed and trusted sources of information in the digital age, adapting to include new services and ensure access through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

“This ‘hybrid’ combination of broadcast and broadband in particular makes it possible to develop new ways of being even closer to the audience,” said Ms Frankenhaeuser. “Today, radio reaches more than 80 per cent of the European population on a weekly basis, and with average daily listening time in Europe still strong, terrestrial radio is forecast to remain the main platform to access audio content in the foreseeable future.”

Radio audiences have also been invited to contribute to the celebrations.  URTI will again offer its audio upload platform and radio lovers have been asked to come up with slogans to promote their choice medium.