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60 years of Radio Bobo: ”This anniversary is essential to show what Radio Bobo stands for”

Radio Bobo celebrates its 60th anniversary on March 16 and 17, 2023. For the occasion, we met the Regional Director of RTB2 Hauts-Bassins, Evelyne Dabiré. In the following interview, she talks to us, among other things, about the meaning of this celebration and the program of activities that has been concocted for this celebration.

Tell us what was the opening date of Radio Bobo?

It must be said that Radio Bobo first experienced a trial phase of 03 months. That is to say October, November, December 1962. It was in January 1963 that Radio Bobo really opened its doors with Pierre BARRY as Director.

Why celebrate the 60e anniversary ?

Sixty (60) years in the life of a structure, this shows the maturity, the commitment, the desire to always progress with different generations. For us, it is therefore essential to mark these 60 years with a white stone in order to show the present generations what Radio Bobo represents, and the older generations to remind them and bring back good memories. Also, make the future generation understand that Radio, as a medium, is a local medium for us, and invite the younger generation to get closer to Radio. Because, whatever one says, the radio is the first channel of communication which is close to the population.

What were the major changes that marked the life of Radio Bobo?

Sixty (60) years is a lot and when the technical means do not necessarily depend on us, we follow these developments sometimes imposed, sometimes desired. In terms of technology, there have been developments that have been imposed on us to the limit, because going from analog to digital is not necessarily a desired choice, so at this level we have evolved and I believe positively. Because from 100 w of transmitter power since October 1962 until 10 years later Radio Bobo had a mutation, since the capacity increased to 150 w. But the big change came with the Revolution where we went to 500 w. But with the political will to extend Radio Bobo even further, if not the voice of the population, before the end of this month of March we will be at 2 kilowatts. So we can reach the Malian and Ivorian borders, or even go beyond.

What are your current difficulties?

Difficulties abound. And I take this opportunity to thank the general management of the RTB on behalf of the population and the agents of the RTB Hauts-Bassins. Because there is already work that has been done so that we can improve the sound. Two weeks ago, the sound let us down. So today, we suffer from outdated equipment. There is still a lot to do because we have not yet gone up with the Radio to the level of DTT, whereas we are obliged to go towards this evolution to perfect our productions and be listened to much better and further. The hierarchy is already working on this. There is also the dilapidated state of the premises, and to this is added an archiving problem. We would like a fairly ventilated space and specialized personnel in archiving, this will allow us to archive both tapes and discs. Because for more than 30 years Radio Bobo has worked in analogy. So all the content is consigned to discs and tapes as the tapes crumble over time. There was the need to copy this content to digital.

Remind us of Radio Bobo’s frequency and what is its coverage today?

Today to listen to Radio Bobo, just go to the frequency 89.8 FM. The coverage radius is 100 kilometers around. But in a very short time, we will strengthen our transmitter which now goes to 02 Kw. This means that we are going to broadcast until we reach the borders with Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Because we believe that Radio Bobo has enough tools to educate and raise awareness of social cohesion between populations in this context of insecurity. We are in a border area, so it is essential that the messages of the country carry to these areas so that our brothers who live there may find comfort.

What motivated the choice of the theme for these 60 years?

At the beginning, we wondered what to highlight social cohesion, or the desire to shine and get a message across. In the end we chose 60 years of Radio Bobo, which radio for which audience in the digital age’’, quite simply because we are in a context where social media and digital technology have taken precedence over other media. This is why today you will notice that even the traditional media like the Radio are obliged to go through the channel of the Internet to be able to reach other heights. So, we said to ourselves that why for these 60 years, not reflect on the context in which we are currently evolving, and see in relation to all this communication environment, how to make Radio Bobo shine even more. Because some use these channels to widen the social divide, so much Radio Bobo uses these same channels to provide information that brings people together, because the Radio is made to bring people together.

And what are the planned activities?

We have grouped the activities into two days of commemoration. On the first day, that is to say Thursday, March 16, 2023, we will have at the opening a mini fair right here at the level of the house to highlight the local products that our brave fellow citizens transform. In addition there will be the opening of the open day to show the population where we started and at what level we are. Because when we say Radio Bobo in the digital age, it would mean that we were not born in this digital age. And starting at 10 a.m. there will be panels. We will basically have three themes. “What future and what audience for Radio Bobo in the era of digital and social networks” which will be moderated by the eminent speaker Baba HAMA, then “Radio Bobo from yesterday to today, the new challenges” which will be moderated by teacher Mafarma SANOGO. And finally, the last theme to wink at the proximity we claim is “linguistic diversity on Radio Bobo, role and place of national languages ​​in the promotion of living together” led by Sita KAM , former head of service at Radio Bobo. Because we want to be close to the population, we speak different languages, and we want to use this knowledge to build social cohesion. Bobo being a cosmopolitan city, we need to talk to have social cohesion. Also on Thursday afternoon, we will have an aerobic session. Finally on Friday, March 17, it’s the official ceremony from 9 a.m. We have the honor that this will be chaired by the minister. The president of the Superior Council of Communication will also be present as well as the various sponsors who will accompany us.

Your closing words?

I call on the population of Bobo to endorse all these activities. The doors of activity are open to him. These are the 60th anniversary of their Radio. It would be good if she could come and visit it, take part in the open day and listen to the panels to find out where their Radio started from to be at this level. The population must also come, failing to be able to have fun, to show the little old Radio station what it was and what it is for it. We are committed to always working for it to remain.

Interview conducted by Ousmane TRAORE

Ousmane ZANTE

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