Radio Okapi is a

radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many ( simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio ( duplex communication) t ...

that operates in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. On an annual budget of USD$4.5 million, a staff of 200 provide news and information to the entire urban population of the DRC. Radio Okapi provides programming in French and in the four national languages of Congo:

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree i ...

, Kituba, Swahili and Tshiluba,

History

Radio Okapi was created by the

United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was est ...

(MONUC) and the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

NGO Fondation Hirondelle. The agreement between MONUC and the Congolese government foresaw the creation of a radio network to inform the Congolese population of the MONUC's efforts. MONUC and the Fondation Hirondelle submitted a plan in 2001 to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

, and the radio network went live on 25 February 2002. The station takes its name from the endangered

Okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...

, the elusive mammal native to the rainforest of northern Congo. In 2011 ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' said that Radio Okapi was "one of Africa’s most admirably independent radio services". Mary Myers, in the essay "Well-Informed Journalists Make Well-Informed Citizens: Coverage of Governance Issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo," said that the radio station "raised the bar for other indigenous radio and TV stations in the country."Myers, Mary. "Well-Informed Journalists Make Well-Informed Citizens: Coverage of Governance Issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo." Printed in: Odugbemi, Sina and Taeku Lee (editors). ''Accountability Through Public Opinion: From Inertia to Public Action''.

World Bank Publications The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Int ...

, 2011
155
Retrieved from

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

on 15 February 2012. 0821385569, 9780821385562. Other area radio stations copied Radio Okapi's news gathering techniques, program concepts, and formats. Myers also said "Although Radio Okapi can be a thorn in the government's side at times, its stance of promoting peace and democracy and the strong role it plays in civic education have led to its recognition, even by the Minister of Information, as a national asset that the Democratic Republic of Congo could ill afford to lose." Serge Maheshe a journalist for Radio Okapi was shot on 13 June 2007. Maheshe was the editor in chief in Bukavu for the station.

Transmitters

Radio Okapi provides programming in French and in Lingala, Kituba, Swahili and Tshiluba, transmitting all day every day on: *

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

103.5 MHz * Aru 88.0 MHz * Bandundu 99.0 MHz *

Baraka Baraka or Barakah may refer to: * Berakhah or Baraka, in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony * Barakah or Baraka, in Islam, the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres * Baraka, full ''ḥa ...

103.4 MHz * Béni 92.0 MHz *

Bukavu Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu pro ...

95.3 MHz * Bunia 104.9 MHz * Bunyakiri 103.2 MHz * Butembo 92.9 MHz * Dungu 103.4 MHz *

Gbadolite Gbadolite or Gbado-Lite (pronounced ) is the capital of Nord-Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is located south of the Ubangi River at the border to the Central African Republic and northeast of the national capit ...

93.0 MHz * Gemena 95.4 MHz *

Goma Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the ...

105.2 MHz *

Isiro Isiro (pronounced ) is the capital of Haut-Uele Province in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies between the equatorial forest and the savannah and its main resource is coffee. Isiro's population is estimated ...

90.1 MHz * Kalemie 105.0 MHz * Kamina 104.3 MHz *

Kananga Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital city of the Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï-Occidental Province. It is the fourth most populous urban a ...

93.0 MHz *

Kanyabayonga Kanyabayonga (also Kanya Bayonga, Kanyabayungu) is a town in Lubero Territory, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town has suffered from continued violence between the army and rival militias since 1993. Location The tow ...

96.0 MHz * Kikwit 103.5 MHz * Kindu 103.0 MHz *

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...

94.8 MHz *

Lisala Lisala is the capital of the Mongala Province in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Congo River flows through the city. Its Cathédrale Saint-Hermès is the cathedral episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisala. It i ...

104.3 MHz *

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: (French), ( Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katan ...

95.8 MHz * Mahagi 96.0 MHz * Manono 104.5 MHz *

Masisi Masisi is a town in the North Kivu Province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the administrative center of the Masisi Territory. Location Masisi lies approximately by road, northwest of the provincial capital of ...

96.0 MHz * Matadi 102.0 MHz *

Mbandaka Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a city on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of Équateur Provin ...

103.0 MHz * Mbuji-Mayi 103.5 MHz * Moba 102.4 MHz * Rutshuru 95.3 MHz * Tshomo Uni 106.5 MHz * Uvira 105.3 MHz *

Walikale Walikale is a town in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the administrative center of the Walikale Territory. Walikale is home to the largest tin deposits in the Congo and to some very large gold mines, ...

104.9 MHz *

Shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

**9635 kHz (5 AM to 7 AM) **11690 kHz (5 PM to 6 PM)

Sources

In film

* ''Radio Okapi, radio de la vie'', is a documentary produced by Pierre Guyot, 2006. It premiered on TV5 in June 2006. It examines the work of Breuil Munganga, a journalist at Radio Okapi. It has been selected by many festivals in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...

.''Radio Okapi, radio de la vie'' was selected at:
''Festival international du grand reportage d'actualité et du documentaire de société''
(FIGRA) March 2006; *''Festival Ciné droits libres de

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

'', Burkina Faso, November 2006;
Documentary Month
, France, November 2006;
''Assises internationales du journalisme''
Lille, March 2007;
''Festival international du film des droits de l'Homme''
Paris, March 2007,

, Université Laval, May 2007, *''Le Festival du Film des Droits de l'Homme'', Bangui, Central African Republic, May 2007.

References

External links

Official Site of Radio Okapi

Radio Okapi on the MONUC site

Article at DXing.info

External links

{{Authority control

Radio in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2002 establishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

History

Transmitters

Sources

In film

See also

References

External links

External links