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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
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.
The outlook for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on global education is far from rosy. But a gloomy future isn’t inevitable. Disappointing statistics are the result of political choices that can be shifted and there are thousands of youth, grassroots activists and civil society organisations across the UK advocating for global education to make these changes. We need more people involved to build the momentum, we need to make a difference in challenging circumstances. You can help! Here’s how; Making global education a UK priority The UK is an important donor and champion for global education. However, education has been gradually deprioritised on the development agenda. Global education spending has plummeted from 13.5% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023, and education was one of the sectors hit hardest by the abandonment of the 0.7% gross national income (GNI) target for ODA. With Labour’s annual budget confirming another reduction in the aid budget, funding for global education is under threat of being cut even further unless we stand together to say this can’t happen. While education is a domestic priority for the new Government, it has yet to emerge as a strong theme in their development agenda. As the Labour Party continues to develop their approach there is a unique opportunity for advocates to connect these dots and make the case for why education must be a key part of the Government’s international plans. For the Government to take action it needs to hear demand for change. There are many issues MPs recognise are important, but if they do not hear about these issues from constituents it can be hard for MPs to be vocal about them in Parliament. Following an election where many parliamentary seats were won with tight margins, MPs need to hear from the people they represent that global education must be on their agenda. With over half of MPs elected for the first time this year, many are actively looking for a steer on what issues to work on. We can give them one! How to Get Involved Write to your MP about why global education needs to be a bigger priority for the UK Government and encourage members of groups you are a part of, such as your union branch or a local community group, to do the same. This can have a real impact on your MP’s interest and ability to act for global education. You can also connect with other grassroots activists and get resources for taking action from international development advocacy organisations like Results UK. You can learn more about Results UK’s grassroots network on our website. If you are a teacher, get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School Campaign (SMF). Send My Friend is a UK civil society coalition advocating for SDG4 which supports a mass UK schools campaign to amplify student voices calling for universal quality education in solidarity with their peers around the world. Free campaign packs are available on the SMF website for primary and secondary levels with everything teachers need to run the campaign in their school. Parliamentarians can learn more about education issues and how to act by joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education, a cross-party group that brings together Parliamentarians interested in the right to education and provides them with knowledge and resources to be champions of the issue. By joining our voices through collective action, we can make a real difference in moving the needle on this issue. Together we have a chance to rechart the course for the realisation of quality education for all. BIOGRAPHY Hannah Frisch is the Senior Policy and Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education at Results UK and a Co-Chair of the Send My Friend to School Policy and Parliamentary Working Group. She is a policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education in the UK Parliament.
Last year the Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the work of The Federation of Drama Schools by providing financial aid to new graduates, enabling them to take part in an industry showcase at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The showcase is an annual event for Irish graduates who have completed a professional training at one of the Federation’s partner conservatoires in the UK, introducing young actors to the industry they hope to work in. The Federation of Drama Schools partners are institutions that provide conservatoire vocational training for those who want to be professional performers, theatre makers and technical theatre practitioners. The courses they offer are for students of eighteen years and over, who have completed their school level education. In November (2024) fourteen young Irish graduates took part in the showcase and the SSF provided financial support to two graduates who may not otherwise have been able to take part in this showcase, which is a bridge between training and their professional career. Melanie Lavery from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is one of those who benefitted from this support. Melanie writes of her experience. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Steve Sinnott Foundation for the support I received, making it possible for me to take part in the Dublin Showcase 2024. The opportunity allowed me to work with graduates from across FDS schools and widen my contacts in the industry. Coming from a socio-economically deprived area, I’ve often missed out on opportunities available to my peers. I have had to spend a lot of energy during my three years in drama school working to support myself and this has meant I often don’t have time to follow up network opportunities. In receiving this sponsorship and taking part in the showcase I have been able to connect with other Irish creatives - the people I am acting opposite, directors, casting directors and agents in the industry. These industry showcases are so important for graduates. It gives us the possibility of networking with industry professionals and hopefully the opportunity of taking that first crucial step into the profession we have trained for. As I studied in Wales, it gave me the chance to return to Ireland and to reach out to creatives there. The Foundation gave me this amazing opportunity to kick start my career in my home country. On the day of the showcase, I had such pride watching my fellow Irish peers performing on stage at Ireland’s National Theatre. Working together throughout the rehearsal period, I got to know them individually and we all helped each other to grow as performers. This showcase has helped me to create my own community of actors around me. When it came to talking with other creatives after the show case, I became so much more aware of how large and welcoming the industry is in Ireland and how much work is being produced here. I think this show case is so important as it highlights how vibrant and growing the industry is in Ireland. I feel so lucky that I was able to take part thanks to the help of the Steve Sinnott Foundation. For more information on the Federation of Drama Schools, professional industry showcases, and it’s partner schools please visit www.federationofdramaschools.co.uk
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