BNNRC has already opened the Community Radio Help Desk with the following help and services to the interested initiators:

a. Help Desk for the Community Radio Enthusiast; Budget and Planning;
b. Assisting in filling up the form and following up with the concerned Department, Ministries and Commissions in this regard;
c. Technical guidance for Studio setup, broadcasting equipments;
d. Assist in acquiring relevant software;
e. Baseline studies and need analysis;
f. Monitoring and Evaluation;
g. Capacity Building including training on radio content production, editing and presentation;
h. Transmission management;
i. Library and Archives;
j. Feedback;
k. Identify partners and funding agencies.

Contact Address
House 13/1, Road 2, Shamoli, Dhaka 1207.
Tel: +88 02 9130750, 9138501, Fax: 9138501 (Ext.-105)
Email: ceo@bnnrc.net, Web: www.bnnrc.net

Applications are invited from the interested organisations for ‘Community Radio Installation, Broadcasting and Operation’ in the prescribed form. The applications forms to be collected from the Ministry of Information, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, (Room No-805) during the office hour on submitting a Bank Draft/ Pay Order of non-refundable 100.00 (One Hundred) Taka in favour of the Secretary, The Ministry of Information and to be submitted to the office of undersigned during the office hour till 15th April 2008.

The Community Radio Installation, Broadcast and Operation Policy-2008 is available in the web site of the Ministry of Information at www.moi.gov.bd

Ref: The Daily Star, March, 2008

The community radio network could give the marginalized people of the country access to information and thus play immense role in the development of particular communities, speakers at a daylong international seminar said on Sunday. They said, the prospect of the Community Radio is that it could give voice to the voiceless people, but the rules and procedures of the licensing system should have provisions to ensure that the ownership of the information really remain within the community.
Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Bangladesh NGO’s Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC and United News of Bangladesh (UNB) jointly arranged the seminar with the theme “Peoples Voices, Peoples Participation and Community Radio” at the conference room of UNB.

Information Secretary Jamil Osman as Chief Guest inaugurated the seminar while former Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and former Secretary of the Government Syed Margub Morshed was in the chair. Country Director and Representative of UNESCO in Bangladesh Dr Malama Meleisea and Assistant Country Director of UNDP in Bangladesh K A M Morshed addressed the inaugural session as Special Guests.
Among others, Secretary General of AMIC Dr Indrajit Banerjee, Professor of International Institute of Communication, UK Dr Andrew Taussig, Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) Mohammad Nazrul Islam and Chairman of UNB Amanullah Khan addressed the session. AMIC Head of Research Dr Kalinga Seneviratne presented the keynote paper of the session titled “Overview of Community Radio across Asia: Opportunities and Challenges”.

Please Download the Press Release, Program Schedule
Media Coverage News Today, Jugantor, Prothom-alo, AmarDesh, Shamokal,

Bangladesh government recently invited appliction form to launch Community Radio as piloting basis.For that BNNRC published a guide book for Community Radio Enthusiast on installation of Community Radio, Budget and planning and Many more.

Full Publication at:CR_Policy

Community Radio policy 2008 formulated in Bangladesh.

The government has formulated a policy on the installation, broadcast and operation of community radio to facilitate information dissemination, said a Press Information Department handout on Sunday.

The handout said the communality radio installation, broadcast and operation policy 2008 was posted on the information ministry web site (www.moi.gov.bd) for the people interested in community radio licence.

For English version please visit:CR Policy 2008

The government yesterday extended the deadline for sending opinions and views on the preliminary draft of Right to Information (RTI) Ordinance 2008, till April 3.

An eight-member committee headed by the joint secretary (development) of the information ministry prepared the draft of the ordinance. The draft has 27 articles on the objective of the ordinance, methods of information dissemination, how to seek or disclose information, exemptions from disclosure, formation of the information commission and punishment for not disclosing information.

The draft in Bangla was put on the website of the information ministry www.moi.gov.bd on March 4 to collect public opinion on it.

Those interested to send in opinions are asked to do so through any of the following five e-mail addresses -- www.moisecretary@yahoo.com, addsecmoi@yahoo.com,
isadmn_moi@yahoo.com, jsdev_moi@yahoo.com and jsbmoi@yahoo.com by March 23.

The government decided to extend the time limit to April 3 following requests from different sections of people, a Press Information Department handout said.

For English version please visit: RTI Draft

For the first time in Bangladesh a national workshop on Community Radio Awareness is held on 02-04 March 2008 at Bangladesh Open University (BOU) campus jointly arranged by Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC) and Development Research Network (D.Net) in collaboration with Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) of Commonwealth of Learning(COL) and Bangladesh Open University(BOU). The workshop took place at the Media Centre in Bangladesh Open University at Gazipur, Dhaka.

The workshop is inaugurated by the Hon'ble Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Open University Professor Dr. M Farid Ahmed. He said during the inauguration, ‘Our day to day life is now highly influenced by the technology. And this particular workshop is going to contribute a big stake in the social and economic development of Bangladesh.

Ms. Rumkini Vemraju, the Programme Officer of CEMCA and Mr. Firoj Ahmed, Joint Director of BOU jointly supervise the workshop for the whole three days.

Dr. Rumkini in the inaugural ceremony said, ‘CEMCA is working closely with more than 30 Community Radio Station in India.’ She shared the experiences of India and stated to contribute in Bangladesh in relation to community radio.

As the special guests Mr. AHM Bazlur Rahman-S21BR, the Chief Executive Officer of BNNRC and Mr. Dr. Ananya Raihan were present in the inaugural session. They expected in their speeches that CEMCA and BOU will contribute endlessly in emergence of Community Radio in Bangladesh.

Higher officials from the Media Centre and the Regional Directors of BOU as well as the Higher officials of the NGOs that are working in the remote and coastal areas of Bangladesh have participated in the workshop.

The participants from the commercial phone companies who have established the internet outlets in the rural areas in Bangladesh have also joined. In the workshop the technical aspects and content making, studio designing and maintaining, radio station management and broadcasting everything is taught with tremendous care and practical demonstration.

Mr. Amit Chakrabarty, the former high official of the very popular Bangla TV Channel of India ‘Tara Bangla’ and Programme Director of World Space Radio, Mr. Monoranjan Das, the advisor of Radio TOday and the former Additional Chief Engineer of Bangldesh Betar and the consultant of ABC Radio Mr. Jamal Uddin Mawla Newaj have facilitated in the workshop. The perspective and Social aspects of the Community Radio is demonstrated by Mr. AHM Bazlur Rahman-S21BR, the CEO of BNNRC.

At the end of the three-day workshop the certificates have been distributed among the participants in the gala closing ceremony. Honourable Vice Chancellor and the Treasurer of Bangladesh Open University were present among others in the closing ceremony. Mr. Vice Chancellor said in his closing speech that BOU would support in the skill development of the station managers of forthcoming Community Radio in Bangladesh in future.

The workshop expected that the government of Bangladesh would soon open up the pilot basis Community Radio. As the direct result of the workshop the participants are now prepared to run more than 50 CR stations no sooner have the government approve it.

Dhaka, 23 January 2008. To orient the Bangladeshi partner NGOs of Cordaid (a Dutch international NGO) on community managed disaster risk reduction (DRR) a training workshop is being held at CCDB-HOPE Training Centre at Baroipara, in Gazipur from 20-24 January 2008.

At the end of the workshop the participants are expected to develop a growing common understanding of philosophy, principles, and practices/processes of community managed disaster risk reduction working framework. They are also expected to develop confidence collectively through mapping out what needs to be done at organization and community levels to shepherd the process of DRR with the end view that community will manage DRR initiatives and action plans.

In a country ravaged by multiple hazards with an ever increasing frequency enhancing DRR capacities is extremely relevant. Twenty-six participants from 13 Cordaid partner NGOs are attending this training workshop. The workshop is being facilitated by Nova Consultancy Bangla.

The community radio network could give the marginalized people of the country access to information and thus play immense role in the development of particular communities, speakers at a daylong international seminar said on Sunday. They said, the prospect of the Community Radio is that it could give voice to the voiceless people, but the rules and procedures of the licensing system should have provisions to ensure that the ownership of the information really remain within the community.
Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Bangladesh NGO’s Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC and United News of Bangladesh (UNB) jointly arranged the seminar with the theme “Peoples Voices, Peoples Participation and Community Radio” at the conference room of UNB.

Information Secretary Jamil Osman as Chief Guest inaugurated the seminar while former Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and former Secretary of the Government Syed Margub Morshed was in the chair. Country Director and Representative of UNESCO in Bangladesh Dr Malama Meleisea and Assistant Country Director of UNDP in Bangladesh K A M Morshed addressed the inaugural session as Special Guests.
Among others, Secretary General of AMIC Dr Indrajit Banerjee, Professor of International Institute of Communication, UK Dr Andrew Taussig, Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) Mohammad Nazrul Islam and Chairman of UNB Amanullah Khan addressed the session. AMIC Head of Research Dr Kalinga Seneviratne presented the keynote paper of the session titled “Overview of Community Radio across Asia: Opportunities and Challenges”.

Please Download the Press Release , Program Schedule , Media Coverage1,2,

The community radio network could give the marginalized people of the country access to information and thus play immense role in the development of particular communities, speakers at a daylong international seminar said on Sunday. They said, the prospect of the Community Radio is that it could give voice to the voiceless people, but the rules and procedures of the licensing system should have provisions to ensure that the ownership of the information really remain within the community.
Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Bangladesh NGO’s Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC and United News of Bangladesh (UNB) jointly arranged the seminar with the theme “Peoples Voices, Peoples Participation and Community Radio” at the conference room of UNB.

Information Secretary Jamil Osman as Chief Guest inaugurated the seminar while former Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and former Secretary of the Government Syed Margub Morshed was in the chair. Country Director and Representative of UNESCO in Bangladesh Dr Malama Meleisea and Assistant Country Director of UNDP in Bangladesh K A M Morshed addressed the inaugural session as Special Guests.
Among others, Secretary General of AMIC Dr Indrajit Banerjee, Professor of International Institute of Communication, UK Dr Andrew Taussig, Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) Mohammad Nazrul Islam and Chairman of UNB Amanullah Khan addressed the session. AMIC Head of Research Dr Kalinga Seneviratne presented the keynote paper of the session titled “Overview of Community Radio across Asia: Opportunities and Challenges”.

Please Download the Press Release , Program Schedule ,
Media Coverage News Today, Jugantor, Prothom-alo, AmarDesh, Shamokal