Persistence in the face of adversity has won Radio Sagarmatha in Katmandu, Nepal, laurels from the One World Broadcasting Trust.
Station Manager Mohan Bista will be in London in June to receive the Special Award for Community Media.
Radio Sagarmatha broadcasts 18 hours a day, primarily in Nepali, but with news updates in Nepal Bhasa, Tamang, Maithili and English.
When the Nepalese authorities banned all independent broadcasters from carrying news in April 2005, Radio Sagarmatha defied the ban to continue its daily output. In November that year, police raided the station, seized technical equipment and arrested five staff members. However, public pressure led the Supreme Court of Nepal to issue an interim order allowing Radio Sagarmatha to resume operations.
The annual One World Media Awards promote coverage and analysis of the developing world.
The other projects short-listed for the Special Award for Community Media were Radio La Voz de Atitlán in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala; Oslo, Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma; Youth Media in Lusaka, Zambia; Radio Peace in Winneba, Ghana; and the Malaria Control and Prevention through Partnership project in Liberia.
