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Sri Lanka, Feb. 19 -- Tuesday, February 13 was World Radio Day. The United Nations General Assembly (UNESCO) invited all radio stations and supporting organisations to join in the celebrations which it says is a chance to pay tribute to the medium and to express our gratitude as to how it helps shape our lives!
World Radio Day was first celebrated in 2012, following its declaration by the UNESCO General Conference. It was subsequently adopted as an International Day by the organisation. World Radio Day 2018 focuses on the interplay between radio and sports, and its impacts on bridging divides, gender equality and diversity.
Radio is still the most dynamic, reactive and engaging medium there is, adapting to 21st century changes and offering new ways to interact and participate. Where social media and audience fragmentation can put us in media bubbles of like-minded people, radio is uniquely positioned to bring communities together and foster positive dialogue for change.
In reality, Sri Lanka should be at the forefront of the festivities and has every right to hold such an exalted position. Few may be aware that this nation was a pioneer among broadcasting nations and was the first among South East Asia. In actual fact, the history of Radio Ceylon dates back to year 1925, when its first precursor, Colombo Radio, was launched on December 16, 1925. Certain historians claim that radio transmissions commenced just three years after the launch of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), making it the first ever radio station in Asia and the second oldest in the world.
Broadcasting on an experimental basis was started in Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, by the Telegraph Department in 1923. Gramophone music was broadcast from a tiny room in the...