Before the internet, many people relied on the humble radio to deliver their daily dose of news, entertainment and important weather updates. This was especially true for poor or remote communities who didn’t have access to television or other means of communication.
UNESCO formally announced the formation of Radio Day in 2011, after a suggestion put forward by Spain to celebrate this important means of communication. In some parts of the world, radio still remains an important lifeline to the outside world.
In remote farming communities in Australia, children learn their school work through radio. In poor communities in Africa, villages gather around the radio each evening to keep up to date on national news and hear music and speeches. Radio has been superseded by the internet and satellite communications for large parts of the world, but for millions of less fortunate people, radio is still a miracle of technology.