WorldSpace Foundation (WSF)

- Supporting a network of 300 African community broadcasters, rural community information centers and other civil society organizations with information ranging from HIV/AIDS prevention to food security to child and youth development

- Training a new generation of IT-savvy grassroots information proponents

- Giving voice to people who have been previously unheard

“We as communities like hearing our own voices.”

Noah LusakaArid Lands Information Network

Kenya

- Reaching more than 55 million people in Africa with vital, relevant information

Mission

To improve the lives of people in the developing world who are disadvantaged by

poverty.

We bypass illiteracy, geographical isolation and inadequate infrastructure to bring vital

programs to information-starved communities through our award-winning digital broadcast

and multimedia services.

WorldSpace Foundation- Information and Knowledge

- Assembles information and knowledge produced by local civil society organizations

- Distributes the information to people in rural, isolated and other hard-to-reach regions of Africa, the Middle East and Asia

- Has 300 partners throughout Africa who provide local content, organize listening groups and rebroadcast WSF programs

Audio Service

Material collected from

groups in Africa

Digitized and post-produced in Washington

DC studio

Sent via Internet, mail or dropped off at WSF office during visits

AfriStar™ Satellite

TFLS Hub Uplink in Johannesburg,

South Africa

Server

School, University or NGO

Community Broadcaster

Coordinated Listening Group

CD and Internet

Audio signal direct from satellite to

receiver

Africa Learning Channel- Award-winning collective channel of “first voice” radio programs

- A forum for Africans to share ideas, best practices, success stories and solutions to common problems

- Reaches an estimated audience of 55.5 million people with information on HIV/AIDS, child and youth development, food security, microenterprise and other vital topics

Production costs: ~$300,000 annually, raised by WSF from private foundations, corporations, individuals, multilateral agencies and other donors

Cost to WSF’s partners (NGO, community broadcaster, information center, etc.): on average $150 for a receiver (includes technical support)

Cost to the listener: $0

One Receiver Reaching Many Ears- Based on Africa’s rich oral traditions

- Promotes group listening and learning

- Relies on WSF’s extensive network of local NGO and community broadcasting partners

- Sustainable and effective strategy for receiver placement to achieve maximum impact

Above: A listening group in a village outside the city of St. Louis in Senegal discussing HIV/AIDS prevention

Right: A group leader in Kisumu, Kenya preparing for a listening session of an ALC AIDS program

- Combine the use of WSF’s satellite radio and multimedia capabilities

- Integrate WorldSpace technology with terrestrial (AM/FM) radio

- Multiply impact of WSF programming through rebroadcasts of radio programs from the Africa Learning Channel and Canal EF

Rural Community Information CentersRadio broadcaster in the Bankilare Community Information Center (CIC) in Niger. The center downloads health, agriculture, cultural and microenterprise development programming from the Africa Learning Channel and Canal EF for rebroadcast. The CIC often translates the programs into the local language before rebroadcasting them.

Rural Radio Network of NigerReceiver antenna in a protective box over community information center in rural Niger

The center houses a radio station and uses WSF’s audio and multimedia service as its primary source of relevant news and social development information.

Centers like this are being established by communities throughout Niger with support from the government, UNDP and several other agencies.

Beyond Breaking the Silence

Launch of community outreach campaign in Ntungamo District in Uganda, a program site for the WSF-Africare HIV/AIDS Initiative

“The beneficiaries identify themselves positively with the program. …When you ask them what WorldSpace (Foundation) is, you will be impressed with how they relate it with information on HIV/AIDS.”

Milton Waiswa, Ugandan government official

WorldSpace Foundation- Capacity Building

- Supports networks of organizations by facilitating information exchange

- Enhances capacity building with training, technical support and resource development

- Grassroots Focus

- Partners with local leadership in design, implementation and evaluation of all projects

- Enables people to enrich and empower their everyday lives

Data edited and formatted for

uplink by partner organization

Data collected from groups in

Africa

WS Scheduler

in DC

TFLS Hub Uplink in Johannesburg,

South Africa

Internet

AfriStar™ Satellite

Satellite Radio Receiver

Via Digital Data Adapters

School, University or Library

Community Center

Health Clinic

Server

Internet

Internet

WSF Multi-Media Service

WSF Multi-Media Service• Cost-effective and reliable mechanism for the delivery of web-based multimedia data

• Reaches target audiences in regions where Internet access is unavailable, unreliable or prohibitively expensive

• Bridges the gap between advances in ICTs and infrastructure that cannot adequately support new technologiesWSF charges a service fee to organizations that use its multimedia service to transmit information. Recent fees have ranged from $11,000 to $15,000 annually and are determined on a case-by-case basis. The one-time cost to the end-user, i.e., a local NGO or health clinic, is on average $200 for a receiver and multimedia adapter.

Information on the Multimedia Service- Climate: charts, statistics, dynamic satellite imagery required for the development of early warning systems, reliable forecasts and crop cycles in Africa and Asia to help mitigate natural disasters, prevent drought and famine

- Community development: best practices, training manuals and success stories of development projects in the arid lands of Eastern Africa and the Horn to help communities in the region stabilize their food supplies and engage in sustainable income-generation activities

- Public health: relevant medical articles, diagnostic aids and treatment guidelines, radio scripts to aid in the prevention and management of epidemics and other public health challenges

Other materials on the service include:- Agriculture and environment information

- Regional humanitarian, political and economic news

- ICT training manuals

Other Beneficiaries of WSF Programs

UNICEF-OLS workers download teacher training and classroom support material from the multimedia service at a community center in Yambio, Southern Sudan.

Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) field worker receives training manuals and best practices for effective community development

A woman in Eldoret in Kenya’s Rift Valley region waters her mini container garden she grew as a result of being trained by ALIN community development workers

Global Reach

The WorldSpace satellite network consists of three geo-stationary satellites: AfriStar™ AsiaStar™, and AmeriStar™.

AfriStar and AsiaStar were successfully launched October, 1998 and March, 2000 respectively.

Each satellite broadcasts on three beams with a coverage of about 14 million square kilometers per beam.

Ultimately, this unique global network will transmit quality information, education and entertainment programming to a coverage area that includes more than 4.6 billion people.

AmeriStar

AfriStar

AsiaStar