Where We Stand — how we position ourselves

HCR works with social development and health practitioners, training and enabling them to plan communication strategies for radio programming.

HCR specialises in health communication using radio and is committed to social justice and empowering vulnerable and marginalised groups.

The goal of HCR's activities is to facilitate radio's role of encouraging listeners to be an agent of learning and not an object of learning. If communities are to be mobilised by radio for social change, then listeners from those communities must be given the opportunity to participate in the design and delivery of radio programming content. It's time for radio practitioners to hand over the microphone and build bridges, and not to keep the microphone and build walls.

HCR has trained trainers, and provided training and consultancy services for government, non-government and donor agencies in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, Vietnam and Australia (indigenous and rural health).

HCR adopts the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion as a framework to address health and social issues using these five levels for radio programming:

1. Inform — about activities or services
2. Educate — increase knowledge to influence changes in attitude and behaviour
3. Advocate — convince of the need for action and change by redefining health and social issues
4. Promote social learning and dialogue — contribute to decision-making processes within community systems with radio programs as a platform for dialogue to give communities a voice and opportunity for self-expression, promoting understanding, consensus building and social capital, and developing cultural identity
5. Entertainment — education and health promotion doesn't have to be boring! Radio programming should give listeners a reason to tune in.