Ryann Dear is the newest volunteer on our Community Radio Project team in Guatemala. She is a recent graduate from Boston University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology and Archaeology. She worked as an intern for the community radio project with the Cultural Survival team in Cambridge for five months this past spring. She was a great fit with Cultural Survival from the beginning, and is now getting the opportunity to see another side of our organization, working alongside Indigenous Community Radio activists and volunteers in Guatemala.
She was recently rewarded a grant to conduct research on the impact that community radios are having in their communities in Guatemala. Her research will assess the impact of the community radios internally, in terms of the people who work there, the programming they broadcast, and the workshops volunteers participate in. As well, the impact assessment will cover external factors; such as the role the radios play in their communities and the lives of their listeners. Her research will provide a clearer idea of who is listening to community radio and why. This research will be used to guide the direction of our up coming projects and to help that radio volunteers identify where some useful changes or adjustments could be made.
Since her arrival in the beginning of January, she has already had the experience of participating in a radio exchange. She spent her first weekend in Guatemala in Huitan, Quetzaltenango, jumping right into the community radio world. She was received well by community members and radio volunteers alike and was able to get a feel for the different pace of things here in Guatemala. Ryann commented on her experience, saying that "attending the exchange really showed me that I can’t make any assumptions about what I’m doing here, and that I have to continue to approach situations with an open heart and mind. The people have so much knowledge to offer, from years of experience; I am looking forward to getting to know all those who are involved in the community radio movement better. It is exciting to be involved in something that means so much to so many people. I am very grateful to be here."
We would like to welcome Ryann to the Cultural Survival team once again, and will be posting updates on the progress of her research here in Guatemala.
