In an effort to facilitate new ways to increase people’s motivation, skills and knowledge of setting up and running community radio programs in Ethiopia, Hirut focused her residency on learning about the community radio network in Indonesia. She participated in a community radio conference, interviewed experts in the field and established networks for potential long-term collaboration to exchange experiences, skills and knowledge between the two countries. Taking advantage of the changes taking place in the country in terms of press freedom, Hirut hopes to use her experiences in Indonesia to support the strengthening of community radio, a media form often neglected in Ethiopia, as a tool to preach unity in diversity and reduce the tension among various ethnic groups.
Jaringan Radio Komunitas Indonesia (JRKI) is an Indonesian community radio network focused on media education, civic empowerment & democratization. JRKI aims to play an active role in realizing a democratic, open, independent and just society. Their active members consist of various independent & community-based radio stations all over Indonesia.