Promoting reconciliation through radio cooperation

Two independent radio producers, one based in Tanzania and the other in Burundi - respectively Studio Ijambo and Radio Kwizera - are to collaborate in order to use radio as "a tool of conflict prevention, and reconciliation". The collaboration would include programme-sharing, co-productions, exchanges of journalists and a correspondent network, a statement issued on Thursday said. The collaboration aimed to provide accurate, balanced and objective information on both sides of the Burundi-Tanzania border as the facilitated repatriation of Burundi refugees from camps in western Tanzania continued, said the statement. "This collaboration will open up dialogue, through the radio programmes, between Burundians in Burundi and those in the camps," said Lena Slachmuijlder, the director of Studio Ijambo. "In the absence of dialogue and information, dangerous rumours and misunderstandings thrive. This collaboration aims to open a space where Burundians can begin to discover each others' realities, and find a common understanding of reconciliation," she added.