QUITO, Ecuador — Everybody has a voice, but not everyone can be heard, says Yeimmy Jaimes Medrano. Jaimes, has created Radiando, a radio workshop designed to teach participants to make radio programs and guide them in discovering how valuable their own voices and opinions are.
“I decided to focus these workshops on children, teens, elder adults and women because they are vulnerable groups that need priority attention,” said Jaimes, a Bucaramanga, Colombia, native who has lived in Quito for four years.
Jaimes, who earned a social communication and community media degree, developed a program in 2016 that revolves around topics including human rights, family and social relationships, different kinds of abuse and self-protection.
“In a one-year process, we go from particular to general subjects, starting with questions like ‘Who am I?’ and finishing with content about brotherhood between countries, peace initiatives and spirituality,” she explained.
Radiando, launched in July 2017, and is part of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana’s permanent workshops. Each week, this public institution hosts Jaimes’ training activities with children and teens, and airs the two programs — “Carnavalito” (“Little Carnival”) http://radiocce.com/carnavalito.html and “Megáfono Joven” (“Young Megaphone”) http://radiocce.com/megafono joven.html — they produce on the AM band.
Jaimes also organizes a workshop for older people with “Club de Adultos Mayores Quitus-La Vicentina” (“Quitus-La Vicentina Elderly People’s Club”), which meets every two weeks.
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“My objective through these workshops is not to force anybody to participate, talk or memorize a script, but rather to simply ask questions and let people discover the beauty of their own voice and that they have important things to say,” she said
