Noé Ismalej (Achi Maya) has worked at his community radio station in San Miguel Chicaj, Baja Verapaz, for ten years. He runs an hour-long weekly program on contemporary issues and current events called "We Chose our Future." The program reviews local and national news and includes interviews and commentary on topics such as violence against women, gender equality, the environment, youth, children, and Indigenous Peoples.
Cultural Survival caught up with Noé in during his busy schedule while reporting on the national elections, to ask him a few questions.
Cultural Survival: Why do you choose to work in your community radio station?
Noé: I like to work in the radio because it’s a medium through which I can reach the greatest number of people to create dialogue about the social issues, and talk about topics that are on the political agenda that affect us, even though we often we forget about them in our daily lives.
Cultural Survival: What would you like to achieve through your work in the station?
Noé: I want to continue fighting to strengthen the work of community radio, so that it maintains the community focus that differentiates it from other forms of media. I also hope to create a well-structured local news service, working with youth in our communities, and to create a news program directed for youth and by youth.
Cultural Survival: How have you benefited from working with Cultural Survival?
Noé: The workshops Cultural Survival has provided have strengthened my knowledge of radio, and have improved my audio-editing skills and script writing. The workshops have motivated me to write and produce programs in the language of my community, which is Achi, which doesn't just benefit me, but also the radio station and the community.
