On Tuesday April 21, 2015in partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), Cultural Survival began regional visits to various Indigenous community radios in Guatemala. As part of ICFJ’s Regional Initiative for Investigative Journalism in the Americas, this second phase has selected 20 Indigenous journalism projects focused on improving community radio programming to receive funding. An ICFJ trainer has been serving as a mentor and guide to the community journalists as they produce investigative radio stories.
The first visits were to the region of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, home to Radio K'amolb'e Comunitaria and Radio Tzuul Taq'a 88.1 F.M. On the first day, six radio volunteers received a day of training on editing techniques, interviewing tips, tools for investigative journalism, and advice on how to prepare a professional radio piece. On the following days, ICFJ trainers and radio experts accompanied the participants as they worked on developing their respective radio stories. Radio K’amolb’e Comunitaria and Radio Tzuul Taq’a are working together on a story about the mass production of African Palms in the region for palm oil. The recent popularity of palm oil has pushed corporations to construct more plantations in Alta Verapaz, raising concerns about the benefits and consequences. The investigation will look at the environmental consequences of the cultivation of African Palms as well as the effects on local Indigenous communities.
Indigenous community radio volunteers in Guatemala, for the most part, lack access to formal journalism education and workshops and training sessions like these improve the quality of programming for the Indigenous communities that they serve. Having international organizations invest and visit these small rural community radios contributes to the protection of their vital work. International support is often what supports these stations when they are unjustly raided.
