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How Radio is Supporting Education Worldwide
To celebrate World Radio Day Ann Beatty, our Chief Executive was interviewed on the Learn Radio, Seeds of Creativity show. You can listen to the whole show here:
At the Steve Sinnott Foundation we work with teachers and educators both internationally and in the UK to support access to education for all children. We work at a grass roots level to make a change to education across the globe and we do this by working in partnership with educators on the ground who scope and manage each project locally, so they are fit for purpose, sustainable and replicable.
Our main aim is working with educators to create independence not dependency. Ann is also the UK coordinator for UNESCO ASPnet schools which is a global learning programme which has been running for over 65 years and has 12,000 members in over 182 countries. In the UK we have just over 100 schools.
Coronavirus has had a huge impact on how we are all working and I think one thing the pandemic has illustrated to everyone is how connected we all are. We don't exist in bubbles we are all connected across the world so I think everybody knows we've seen schools close to over 1.6 billion students globally. Although schools have reopened in many countries many children may never return to school, and for those that do their education has been interrupted.
At the Foundation we've had to look at a new way of working and moving some projects online where possible. The key has been keeping everyone safe, the main thing is that we've had to be flexible and open minded to how projects might work in the future.
Talking about global connectivity, we have found that digital connectivity is missing in many places. Even in the UK there is a level of poverty where people can't afford connectivity. But in some of the countries that we work in they don't often have electricity either. Actually, Wi-Fi is sometimes not available and if it is the cost is really out of their reach.
We've worked in the Gambia and in Sierra Leone providing solar powered radios, and that's worked particularly well because even if you're in a very rural village you can get access to radio. It’s been hugely successful with thousands of children learning safely during the last year.
So, what the government and the teacher unions have done is that in the local radio stations they've recorded lessons, and broadcast them. This is backed that up with paper workbooks so these learning resources are delivered to the villages and the schools so that students continue learning. The teachers have been able to use the radio programmes to develop the learning and do extra lessons with the students.
But in some areas the teachers found that students had neither radios or electricity. So Solar Powered radios were the best solution. The Gambia Teachers Union asked the Steve Sinnott Foundation to step in and help get radios out to these students.
The listeners to the show found it amazing to hear how radios are being used in The Gambia to support thousands of children learning in the last year through government and locally recorded lessons that children can access through solar powered radios.
Ann was asked how can UK schools get more involved with the organisation and support the SDG 4 for education. We have resources on our website listed here:
• Storytelling resource pack
• Home learning resource pack
• Education and Human Rights calendar
• Life Long Learning Webinars
• Fundraising ideas pack
You can purchase a solar radio for about £25 and that includes buying them in country and delivering them. Marie Antoinette Corr, General Secretary of Gambia Teachers Union said hello from The Gambia, and said the solar powered radios are having a great impact on teaching and learning especially in the rural areas it is a great resource.
You can also support the positive periods project we have set up, because girls are missing about 50 days every year from school just because they have their period. So we have set up a project where teachers and educators are teaching girls to make their own reusable eco-friendly Pads.
One teacher listening to the show said that they are trying to introduce a screen free Friday every week now where children will do active art or paper based activities rather than watching live lessons on a screen.
Another teacher asked if schools in the UK can link with other schools across the globe via radio programmes like this one.
Ann explained that so far, we have done some global online learning and sometimes the connectivity doesn't work. We did a Storytelling session with schools from Haiti, The Gambia, Sierra Leone and the UK and it worked extremely well, although sometimes the connectivity is a bit poor so we had to turn our camera’s off.
Learn Radio presenter Russell explained “I'm sure we could. I mean we've done live shows for BBC Radio 4 before so we transmit across the Internet, then Radio 4 picks it up off the Internet and then broadcasts it live on their channel. The fact that we've got a listener in The Gambia right now means that our signals are getting there so what we need to do is to play that into a radio station and then broadcast it locally and then hey presto they can sit back have a break and we then take the Airways over. So absolutely it is possible.”
Ann was asked how does the Foundation decides what projects to focus on in each country and which country takes priority. We work where we are asked to work by teachers and educators on the ground. Steve Sinnott was the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers which is now the National Education Union and his passion was international education and so we work mainly but not exclusively with educators through teacher unions.
Each project is put forward to myself and our trustees and we look at each project on its merit and also decide whether or not it's going to be affordable for us because the more projects we get asked to do the more funding that we need. So, we have to prioritise and the most important thing for us is that we are working in partnership, that it is sustainable, and the people on the ground can manage it locally.
Listeners were fascinated to listen about how we can use radio globally.
Within UNESCO we connect with schools globally so we host schools from other countries so for example we've hosted some schools from Russia, South Korea, Japan, Germany. Quite a wide range of schools and also some of our UNESCO ASP net schools do trips to other countries. Although that's not possible now, we still connect and share learning. So, if you go to the UNESCO website, you'll be able to find a whole section on how you can join up and there's lots of resources on there too.
On the UNESCO site there are lots of resources for World Radio Day, and how you can make your own radio show, think about innovation, and invent a radio for the future! There are lots of resources for schools to get involved with.
In fact, many listeners agreed that just listening to the radio give students some time off from screens and devices and lets them relax. Listening is an important skill, and gets them to use their imagination too.
It also diversifies communities because quite often some of the people who are left out in rural areas, for example, they rely very heavily on radio for information. So, I think teachers could think outside the box a little bit with radio and use it to offer diversity and ideas.
One very important thing is to get students practising listening and speaking skills. They could design their own radio shows, it could be just in the classroom or sharing it as a podcast even. It is a really good medium for developing the power of speaking and listening.
During lockdown radio really is enabling people to stay connected whether it's local radio or national radio, or even you know international radio.
Even in this country we've got lots of listeners that are listing on very old mobile phones because it's actually bandwidth light. It doesn’t need much bandwidth so you don't need those kinds of expensive broadband contracts even if wanted to listen to us all day. That's quite powerful for tech poor households. It’s a brilliant method of reaching folks.
Some of us remember windup radios. Ann had one in Sierra Leone some years back found it didn't work very well because she got fed up of winding it up. The changes in solar power technology has been phenomenal in the last few years so now solar radios are really great.
Radio really can reach all four corners of the globe now with solar power and small bandwidth. So, with quality content this becomes the community, our listeners are our community and it is always such a pleasure and a joy to be able to connect with them and that's what makes radio really really special. Sponsoring a solar radio is a great way to encourage children in the UK to support the sustainable development goals.
Many listeners were grateful for hearing about our projects and we had many donations come in during the radio show and after it. We are really grateful to Learn Radio for the opportunity to tell more people about our work, give them an opportunity to get involved and think of more ways they can use radios in their educational settings. Some schools have already started a school radio show and the children love listening to it and interviewing people.
So thank you once again, and let’s keep using radio for education.
The Steve Sinnott Foundation • February 15, 2021
As 2024 draws to a close, I have been reflecting on some of our achievements and some of the challenges, thankfully there have been more achievements to celebrate. We celebrated 15 years of the Foundations work and it has been heartening to reflect on how far we have come in terms of expanding our reach and supporting more partners on the ground to achieve incredible work. You can catch up on our latest news here Engage 29. We are enthused by the energy and commitment of all our partners on the ground who delivered inspirational projects in 2024, in Cuba, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Nepal, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Educators who are ensuring that colleagues are benefiting from quality CPD and are equipped to prevent gender-based violence in the classrooms and their communities and ensuring Education for All is a top priority. I am grateful for the amazing team of staff, partners, ambassadors, volunteers and our trustees who keep us going in the right direction. A special thank you to Mary Sinnott who is my mentor and keeps me grounded through the challenges. I am also extremely grateful for all of our donors and fundraisers who make our work possible, as without the funds it would be impossible. It was amazing to see how many of you bought a charity gift over the festive season for a friend or loved one and I hope you will continue to consider giving the gift of education in 2025, it can be a great gift at any time of the year. Just before Christmas I came down with a horrible bug and it was during the week of our Education for All Exhibition and Pop Up and I want to thank everyone who kept it going, whilst I rested and recovered, it made me remember how lucky I am to have such a great team supporting the Foundation. I would like to thank you all personally for being part of our community and supporting access to education for all children everywhere. You can also watch our highlights of 2024 in a short video here. I wish you and your families a peaceful, healthy and hopeful 2025. Best wishes Ann
On Friday (1st November), of conference it was dedicated to Education – the first “E” of the theme Education, Empowerment, Enable. Ann Beatty is the Chief Executive of the Steve Sinnott Foundation (SSF) and was one of the key speakers at the conference. The focus is on education as a human right for all. I’m proud to write this blog on Ann Beatty’s talk at the SIGBI Conference because Ann is a member of my Club – Soroptimist International St Albans & District . Ann spoke from the heart with warmth and passion for the work of SSF, as she always does – earning the support and engagement of this large audience of Soroptimists. Ann started by thanking Soroptimists who have already supported her and the Steve Sinnott Foundation. The reason for the link with Soroptimists is clear – United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (UN SDG 4) “to ensure that everyone has access to quality education and lifelong learning opportunities” is so important because it is the enabler for all the other SDG’s. She asked us some questions using “Slido” the interactive audience engagement tool: “How many adults lack basic literacy skills?” – answer 765 million “How many children don’t go to school?” – – answer 360 million These statistics are shocking, the impact on girls means they have no prospects and are often married off very young. UNESCO says the world needs 44 million more teachers to achieve the SDG 4 goal of universal primary and secondary education by 2030. The SSF works with educators and to prove her point Ann got us all to share positive memories of learning with the person sitting next to us – many indicated a teacher who had influenced them. The memories were written on the silhouette of the figure of a girl. The SSF connects learners across the world with technology appropriate for their location – flexibility, simplicity and affordability is essential. Ann then spoke about the Positive Periods Project https://www.stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk/projects – learning how to make reusable sanitary pads using locally sourced materials is a skill for life. The products are sustainable, affordable, comfortable and give the girls and women independence. The charity works with people on the ground – training many thousands of women now in countries like Gambia, Sierra Leone, Cuba, Haiti, Malawi, Uganda – learning how to manage periods with dignity. They are then able to train others. While the young women have been learning and making the pads, dialogue has started around violence against women and girls which has also now been built into learning programs. A message Ann was keen to get across was for people to “STOP SENDING STUFF” – always ask “what do you need?” – there is so much waste.
We both love London and walking, and this year, in honor of The Steve Sinnott Foundation's 15th Anniversary we have decided to embark on this journey. We planned to complete the 10KM walk along the river Thames, passing by many iconic London attractions on the way. We wanted to raise funds, and awareness, to ensure that every child worldwide, can have the opportunity to go to school, as well as adults too. It was an amazing experience and we enjoyed each other's company on luckily a very sunny day! “Since working for the Foundation I have witnessed firsthand the impact it has in supporting young people develop essential life skills by working to ensure provision of quality education for all children worldwide. The ripple effect of this education is truly remarkable as students go on to empower and educate others.” - Nicolet “I’ve been friends with Nicolet since we were kids, and I appreciate her and support her in any way that I can! She does amazing work for the Steve Sinnott Foundation and I want to be able to support her in this as well. A sponsored walk would not only be something we can accomplish together, but the fact that our efforts could go some way to making a difference for children around the world made it very worthwhile.” - Becky
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