Gurgaon Ki Awaaz Samudayik Radio @ 107.8 FM

Contact Person: Ms. Arti Jaiman

Broadcasting Language: Hindi, Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Maithili, Bundeli, Rajasthani

Genesis: Gurgaon Ki Awaaz Samudayik Radio Station started broadcasting in November 2009. The CRS was set up by the NGO The Restoring Force with a very clear intention to be a platform for the voices of marginalised communities in Gurgaon, especially local villagers and migrant workers and their families. The station started broadcasting 22 hours a day within one week of starting its broadcast. Today, the station’s all-women team manages a 24×7 broadcast schedule reaching over 5 lakh listeners in Gurgaon and surrounding areas. The station’s programming focuses on all aspects of its listeners’ lives and aims to transform their lives through its initiatives. 

Thematic Focus:. Gurgaon Ki Awaaz’s key thematic focus areas are health, especially reproductive health and mental health; livelihood, especially entrepreneurship; education, especially primary education; folk culture, especially folk music in languages like Haryanvi, Garhwali, Bhojpuri, Bundeli etc; legal literacy and local governance. Gender and rights are a cross-cutting lens for all the initiatives of the CRS. 

Sustainable Development Goals: Gurgaon Ki Awaaz Samudayik Radio has programmes curated to achieve these SDGs:

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 5: Gender Equality

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Primetime Programmes: The following are the primetime programmes of Gurgaon ki Awaz.

• Geetmala: An hour-long programme featuring folk music from a particular listening community and their language 
• Apni Pasand: A song request show featuring folk music 
• Gurgaon Ke Haal: A daily morning round-up of the latest events  around Gurgaon, especially updates from the District Administration 
• Udaan: A live show on mental health featuring a psychologist, in partnership with Rajbala Foundation 
• Kanoon Ki Baat: A legal literacy show in partnership with District Legal Services Authority, Gurugram 
• Angdaan: A weekly show on organ donation in partnership with Parashar Foundation 
• Suraksha Ki Kaksha: A weekly live show on child safety in partnership with Bud Foundation 
• Bhakti Dhara: An early morning, three-hour programme of devotional music 
• Apna Nazariya Apna Kaam: A programme on entrepreneurship in partnership with Rudset Institute, Gurgaon 
• Apni Raahein Apni Azaadi: A programme on road safety in partnership with Raahgiri Foundation 

Innovations in format or any other way:  The radio station uses social media platforms like Whatsapp to reach out to listeners. This is done to not just encourage participatory programming, but also to share final programmes. Listeners are invited to send their opinions, stories, experiences in audio format via Whatsapp, and short informational programmes are sent to listener groups via Whatsapp. 

Core Team: Gurgaon Ki Awaaz is run by an all-women team drawn from our target community of local villagers and migrant workers. The team includes the Station Director, Station Manager, Programme Manager, reporter, and an intern, The team is also supported by a group of enthusiastic volunteers. 

Major Projects Undertaken: Since inception, Gurgaon Ki Awaaz has been a part of very ambitious and demanding projects. These include: 

• Commonwealth Of Learning’s Community Learning Programme (CLP) under which the CRS produced multiple seasons on the sexual and reproductive health series Chahat Chowk 
• UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences project on migration under which the CRS produced successive seasons of the show Saara Aasmaan Hamara 
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Poshan Abhiyaan 
• Haryana State Legal Services Authority’s three-station legal literacy campaign Kanoon Ki Baat 
• AMARC Asia Pacific’s campaign on family farming 
• UNICEF’s COVID-19 campaign 
• UN Democracy Fund’s Free-Dem project under which the CRS produced a series on the Constitution of India, ‘Hamara Samvidhaan’ 

Sustainable Strategies: Gurgaon Ki Awaaz is supported by funds from the parent organisation, The Restoring Force. About fifty percent of the running cost is raised through partnerships and collaborations with NGOs which use the radio station to amplify their message or as an IEC component of their own work. 

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: The number of potential listeners in Gurgaon Ki Awaaz’ footprint is close to twenty lakh individuals. Of these, approximately five lakh listeners tune in to Gurgaon Ki Awaaz. 

Major concerns in the Community:  Since Gurgaon is a city dominated by migrant workers and their families, who have significantly contributed to the city, the key concerns for migrant workers are: need for better educational and healthcare infrastructure which are available at an affordable cost, opportunities for livelihood, good public transport, safe roads for pedestrians and cyclists, clean drinking water, and affordable food.