Namma Dhwani in the Classroom

Namma Dhwani's school audio program uses both conventional media-audio and new media including internet and multimedia to provide comprehensive education for the school children of Budikote village in Karnataka, near Bangalore. Namma Dhwani has a digital audio production centre which uses mixed media to disseminate local information. In this model, the audio production centre acts as a hub with other reception points becoming the spokes. In 1999 a baseline survey conducted to assess information needs and preferred media revealed that the community wanted locally relevant information on crops, market prices, health (particularly women's health), etc. They wanted this information through audio channels mainly because of low comprehension, poverty and literacy levels. They expressed the wish that information be broadcast in their own dialect, which is a mix of Kannada & Telugu. None of the available media, both private and government-owned, catered to these specific needs mirroring the massive information gap that exists in the rest of the country.