• Report shows community radio continues to go from strength to strength
• Community Radio Fund has proved a lifeline for smaller stations and boosted their growth
• Fund helps local stations increase income and recruit more staff

The Community Radio Fund (CRF) was established in 2005 to help to fund the core costs of running Ofcom-licensed community radio stations.

The CRF evaluation report, published today, demonstrates how the community radio sector has grown and annual income streams have increased due to the grants received.

After receiving a grant from the CRF, a station’s income increased by more than a third on average.

Over a third of stations have been able to employ more staff due to their grant award and nearly 60 per cent of stations said their grant funding has enabled them to recruit more volunteers. Thanks to the CRF, more than half of grant recipients have been able to develop a new fundraising strategy or business plan.

The Fund has also given life and voice to smaller radio stations – such as Salford City Radio – that were on the brink of closure. Now, thanks to CRF grants, they have transformed into self-sustaining stations and some have even been able to expand their coverage. Salford City Radio now has ambitions for expansion, including onto DAB so they can reach even wider audiences.

In the past two years the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has also given an extra £400,000 to the Fund, in recognition of the sector’s significant contribution to reducing loneliness and helping to level up communities.

Media Minister Julia Lopez said:

The Community Radio Fund has been a lifeline for local radio, benefitting listeners across the UK. We’ve been able to target this funding at local stations that need it most and once again we’ve seen the valuable role the radio industry plays in being responsive to connect with its listeners.

The CRF has been instrumental in allowing the sector to bring in people with the skills and experience to grow their commercial income streams.

The research also shows the impact of law changes in 2015 that allowed smaller radio stations more opportunities to secure income from advertising and sponsorship.

In the months to come, DCMS will carry out further work with Ofcom – who administer the Fund – to help it become even more efficient and benefit communities as much as possible.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• The evaluation report can be found here.
• Research commissioned for the Digital Radio and Audio Review shows stronger listener numbers than ever and the sector has a huge part to play in bringing communities together, supporting and benefiting local businesses, volunteer organisations such as food banks, schools and members of the community as well as providing opportunities for people to get into radio.

Thank you, Madam President,

Once again we condemn Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and barbaric invasion of Ukraine. The magnitude of the horrific suffering caused by Putin’s war of choice has made Russia’s actions an inevitable focus of this Session.

However, let me also highlight our concerns about human rights violations in other parts of the world.

We share the serious concerns repeatedly expressed about widespread violations in China. In Xinjiang, harrowing evidence continues to emerge of systematic violations. We welcome the ILO’s recent recommendations on labour practices. This issue will now rightly be on the agenda at the International Labour Conference in June. High Commissioner Bachelet must be granted fully unfettered access, and we look forward – like others – to her long-awaited report.

The situation in Tibet remains of deep international concern, including new reports of boarding schools being used to further erode cultural, linguistic and religious identity.

We also call on China to allow journalists to report without fear of arrest, harassment or reprisal.

In Hong Kong, China continues systematically to undermine rights and freedoms, in clear breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The UK remains committed to holding China to its international commitments.

In Afghanistan, over six months since the Taliban take-over, we are deeply concerned about the human rights situation, particularly for women and members of minority groups, including religious minorities. The Taliban have said all girls will be able to return to school this week; this would be an important step forward. We also look forward to the appointment of the Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan during this Session of the Council.

Restrictions on Egyptian human rights defenders, including through the use of terrorism charges, extended pre-trial detention, travel bans and asset freezes, remain concerning. The number of media websites blocked in Egypt is also worrying. The UK calls on Egypt to protect independent civil society under the NGO law, and to improve prison conditions.

Finally, we have raised our concerns about Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Myanmar, Venezuela and Belarus in other statements to this Council.

Thank you very much Madam President.

Thank you, Mr President.

Thank you Special Rapporteur for your update.

We are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Myanmar. Since the coup, over 1500 people have been killed by the military, with thousands more killed in wider fighting, nearly 13,000 people have been arrested, and over 500,000 people displaced by military operations.

The military are committing atrocities, with credible reports of torture, sexual violence, and mass killings. We are also concerned at reports of abuses by non-state armed groups. All violations and abuses must cease immediately.

Accountability is the only way to end the military’s culture of impunity, and we remain strongly supportive of the Independent Investigative Mechanism.

We support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on arms flows, whose February 2022 report makes for concerning reading. The transfer of arms to Myanmar exacerbates conflict and instability.

In line with this Council’s resolution, we urge the international community to collectively work to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar.

Special Rapporteur,

In your view what more can the international community to do to pressure those who sell arms to the military?

Thank you.

Why you should enter this competition

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. Today there are too few women in international diplomacy, including women from under-represented backgrounds, whether ethnic, religious, economic, cultural, or personal identity, among others. Women are not represented at parity in political and business sectors.

To end this underrepresentation, we must ensure equality of opportunity and equitable outcomes for everyone.

This is why we are encouraging young women in Turkey to make their voices heard on topics that affect us all. We will encourage the winners to become leaders and advocates for change by offering them the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of the British Embassy in Ankara and the British Consulate General in Istanbul.

Who can enter

You can enter this competition if, at the time of applying, you:

• identify as female
• reside in Turkey
• are aged between 18 and 24 years

Close relatives of British Embassy Ankara and Consulate General Istanbul employees and anyone otherwise connected with the judging of the competition will not be eligible to enter.

Expenses: There is no entry fee. The British Embassy Ankara and Consulate General Istanbul will cover agreed travel costs and, if needed, accommodation expenses for the winners. Winners will be contacted by the Consulate or Embassy to agree this on an individual basis.

How to apply

All candidates must answer the following question:

• if you had the power to make one change to improve the lives of women and girls around the world, what would it be?

Entries can be in either a written format (essay) or a video. The word limit for the essay is 250 words and the video should not be longer than two minutes. The essay or video can be in English or Turkish.

If you want to shadow the Ambassador in Ankara:

If you want to shadow the Consul-General in Istanbul:

Video entries must be sent by sharing a WeTransfer link, or a link to a video saved in a private/hidden channel on YouTube.

Together with the essay or video, each candidate must send the following contact details:

• name
• date of birth
• email address
• telephone number

These details will be used to inform candidates about the results of the competition.

What you will win

• you will shadow either the British Ambassador in Ankara, or the British Consul General in Istanbul; with a day of events (programme TBC). A translator will accompany the winners throughout the day to help with English/Turkish communication

• 5 runners up to the Consul General for a Day entries and 5 runners up to the Ambassador for a Day entries will receive a highly commended certificate for their entry

Terms and conditions

1. The candidates must enter the competition with essays or videos, which have not been published in print or online prior to the announcement of the Ambassador for a Day competition and have not been used for applying to similar initiatives. The content of the essays and the videos must be original.

2. Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified. However, if the candidate would be prepared to attend either location, they can state this in their application. The location they enter to will be considered their preference.

3. Winners from the previous Ambassador for a Day campaign in Turkey cannot enter the current competition.

4. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

5. The winners will be selected anonymously based on their essay/video by a judging panel, which includes British Embassy and British Consulate General employees. There will be one winner of Ambassador for a Day, and one winner of Consul General for a Day (two winners in total).

6. The winners will be notified by email within three weeks of the closing date. If a winner cannot be contacted within four working days of notification, the British Embassy reserves the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner from among the other competitors.

7. The winners must be meet the following conditions:

• be available to travel to either Istanbul or Ankara on the winner’s day, which will be in May 2022 (winners will be informed of the dates when they are confirmed)

• have valid ID and/or passport, and bring that ID with them on the winner’s day

• agree to be photographed and/or filmed during public engagements within the Ambassador for a Day campaign in order to promote the initiative provided that the photos/videos do not prejudice their dignity and reputation

8. The British Embassy Ankara and the British Consulate General Istanbul’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition, including but not limited to the appraisal of the participants, the organisation of carrying out the competition and the awarding of the winners’ prizes will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. They shall have the right to change the dates and order or presenting the awards shall a necessity occur whereby the participants shall be notified.

9. By entering this competition, the entrant is indicating her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.