“There is a growing need for us as a country to harness the power of radio to promote nation-building projects. The protection of our indigenous languages is one such initiative that would benefit from the ubiquity of radio,” Kekana said on Wednesday.
Now in its eighth year, World Radio Day is an annual celebration of radio as a medium, and a recognition of its power and influence across the world as a tool that has survived and embraced the advent of many other media platforms.
Every 13 February was proclaimed by UNESCO to celebrate radio broadcast, improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision-makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radio stations.
Kekana, celebrating World Radio Day 2019 under the theme “Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace,” hailed the medium as one of the “most loved, cherished and universal symbols of communications and human progress.”
She said: “The medium is dynamic, adaptable and still very relevant, despite the plethora of newer media such as the internet and social media.
“Radio is a powerful tool that brings people together and that has facilitated the spread of information to many people, even those in far-flung corners of the world.”