About the pilot

RadioActive was piloted in July 2012 in Hackney with a workshop for community and youth leaders in the London Borough. The aim is to provide a cascade training programme, with youth workers themselves training young people from the community in the autumn.

The workshop was co-organised between Pontydysgu and the University of East London CASS School of Education and was hosted by the Yoh youth agency in Hackney.

Workshop approach and programme

The approach to the workshop was to learn how to make internet radio programnmes by making an internet radio programnme! The workshop programme (below) illustrates the approach and the different topics covered, although the workshop can be adapted if necessary for both longer or shorter training events.

9.00 – 9.15 Coffee and introductions

9.15 – 9.30 Introduction to the project and the day

9.15 – 9.45 The Technology and approach

• internet radio as a social media
• what are the components of internet radio?

9.45 – 10.15 Preparing for broadcasting

• 1st editorial meeting
• agreeing a theme
• mapping possible content

10.15 – 10.45 Roles and responsibilities who does what

• publicising the programme

• allocation of roles for the day?

10.45 – 11.15 Working coffee break

11.15 – 12.00 Parallel Workshops

• DJ’ing and Interviewing techniques
• Managing and using the broadcast technology

• Uploading, creating and editing content (e.g. podcasts and jingles)

12.00 – 12.30 2nd editorial meeting Firming up content

• Agreeing running order and timing
• Allocating tasks

12.30 – 1.15 Producing content

• Radio DJing
• live interviews and voxpops
• pre-recorded interviews
• jingles

1.15 – 1.45 Sandwich lunch

1.45 – 2.15 Codes of conduct and legal issues

• risk analysis, governance, contracts, regulations

2.15 – 2.45 Working with young people and radio

2.45 – 3.15 Technical Workshop

• Sound checks, voice check
• using the mixing deck
• Studio layout

3.15 – 3.30 Coffee, final preparations
3.30 – 4.00 On air

4.00 – 4.45 Wind up, de-brief and follow on actions

4.45 onwards informal conversations and the pub

Next steps

Together with our partners for the RadioActive development, The University of East London, Inspire!, the Education Business Partnership for the London Borough of Hackney, and Yoh, we have applied for funding for a large scale roll out of RadioActive in late autumn, 2011.

We have also organised two further workshops at the Gary Chapman Summer School on Digital Transformations in Portugal and the San Marino Arts and Music Festival. We hope to extend the use of Internet radio internationally and would like to here from anyone interested.