PLAY // RECORD // PLAY - Studio Néau X Ida Radio

The project partners each operate a community radio at their locations. As part of these projects, it is a concern for the partners to empower radio producers through workshops to use the medium comprehensively, creatively, and independently. Community radios have a strong socio-cultural and community-oriented component. Unlike commercial radios, community radios always aim to convey, connect, promote, and empower. Against this background, the joint project between Meakusma and Ida Radio provided the opportunity to pursue these goals in a cross-border context. In addition, the collaboration has fostered close professional exchange between the partners, contributing to the sustainable continuation of both projects. The project enables participants to be active on a platform that gives them a voice. Community radios aim to provide visibility and a space for expression to all segments of society. Through the workshops, young people should learn to conscientiously and qualitatively use this opportunity through creative or journalistic expression.

The goal was to empower young people to independently use the medium of radio through workshops. This encompassed journalistic work, music shows, the creation of radio art, and the recording of live concerts. The aim was to impart technical and journalistic knowledge while simultaneously initiating and guiding a creative process in the design of radio content during the initial steps. Within the project, ethical principles related to societal coexistence were also to be conveyed. Participants were to be taught how to create their own content, digitally edit, upload, archive, and disseminate content. Additionally, participants were to learn how to operate recordings in a live context for later publication on the digital platforms of Studio Néau and Ida Radio. At the end of the project, radio content produced by the participants, suitable for publication, should have emerged. The goal was also to either attract new participants to the partner community radios or to assist already active participants in better utilizing the medium.

Three activities were planned to be implemented. Initially, there was to be a workshop in Eupen, providing the opportunity to acquire technical and journalistic knowledge and creatively design one's own radio content. Another workshop in Tallinn was intended to focus on the creation of radio art pieces. The third activity was to center around the recording of live concerts for potential radio broadcasting. After thorough consultation with the facilitator, Henrik von Holtum, who possesses extensive expertise as a musician, radio producer, and lecturer at a university, particularly in knowledge dissemination to young people, it was decided that conducting three consecutive workshops in Eupen and Tallinn would be more meaningful. A workshop solely dedicated to the live recording of concerts would have exceeded the time frame required to achieve a high-quality result. Furthermore, after selecting the participants, it became evident that the youth's interest lay more in the creative use of the medium rather than journalistic work or the technical process of concert recordings. Accordingly, the activities were adjusted to align with the feasibility and the participants' needs.

In addition to the concrete imparting of knowledge, 2 radio productions were created as part of the project. A live radio show was conceived, recorded, and later broadcast. The concept of the show was based on 1 participant taking on the role of the host, while all other participants selected a piece of music, played it, and then engaged in a conversation discussing various aspects of the creative process, the outcome, and its impact. The discussion partners were encouraged to exchange thoughts not on the emotional effect of the musical piece and on possible mental states of the musician during the creation. Both the hosting and the conversation intentionally relied on spontaneity, with minimal preparation. The technical support for the show was provided by participants from the workshop who are also actively involved with Ida Radio and therefore familiar with the equipment. A 2. broadcast was pre-produced and later aired. This involved a collaborative, one-hour radio piece consisting of individual contributions from participants, which were then assembled into the final result. Thus, a radio production emerged featuring elements of music, poetry, and fragments of conversation, imbuing it with a somewhat audiobook-like quality.