Category: World Service
Date: 17.10.2005
Printable version
The 91Èȱ¬ hits the road to meet its many listeners across Uganda and to broadcast programmes live between Wednesday 19 October and Thursday 27 October.
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The 91Èȱ¬ World Service roadshow will visit major towns in Uganda promoting connectivity with the flagship programmes Network Africa, Fast Track and Africa Have Your Say.
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Audiences will be given the opportunity to directly engage with the programmes via a special SMS text number - 00 44 77 86 20 2008 - and requested to Save This Number, Send Your Message and Have Your Say (Save-Send-Say).
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The 91Èȱ¬'s top African presenter, Paul Bakibinga, himself a Ugandan, is the face of the campaign which tours towns in Southern Uganda - Masaka, Mbarara, Fort Portal, Jinja, Tororo and Mbale, as well as the capital, Kampala.
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Along with encouraging people to Save-Send-Say with the 91Èȱ¬'s special SMS text number for the newly re-launched Africa Have Your Say and Fast Track programmes, he will also distribute new scheduling information and collect questions for the programmes.
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Paul says he is thrilled: "This is a great opportunity to meet our audiences. They know and recognise us by our voices, and we can hear them, too, as they call, message or email our programmes, engage in the 91Èȱ¬'s global conversation."
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Kari Blackburn, Regional Executive Editor, 91Èȱ¬ World Service Africa and Middle East Region, says the main aim of the Uganda roadshow is to get people involved with the 91Èȱ¬ output and encourage them to have their say.
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"We will be talking to them, asking them to fill in questionnaires, and encourage them to have their say on issues which are important to them," says Kari.
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"We will also give them a chance to suggest subjects they would like to hear discussed in the future. We want them to feel that all our programmes are really for them and about them."
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Martin Davies, Editor, 91Èȱ¬ World Service African Productions, adds: "Uganda is one of the 91Èȱ¬'s biggest markets in Africa for English-speaking audiences with about two million Ugandans listening to us weekly.
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"We want to showcase our special African programming to them.
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"Our top presenters, Bola Mosuru, Vera Kwakofi and Solomon Mugera Omollo are all coming to Uganda to broadcast their programmes - Network Africa, Fast Track and Africa Have Your Say - live from Kampala and Jinja."
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Africa's award-winning photographer George Osodi is also touring Uganda with the 91Èȱ¬, capturing the faces of our audiences and the places where they live and work.
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These will feature in a wide range of 91Èȱ¬ communications over the coming year.
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Notes to Editors
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91Èȱ¬ World Service is an international radio and online broadcaster delivering programmes and services in 43 languages.
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It uses multiple platforms to reach 149 million listeners globally, including SW, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels.
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It has more than 2,000 partner radio stations which take 91Èȱ¬ content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones.
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Its international online sites, which include audio and visual content and offer users opportunities to interact directly with world events, receive more than 330 million page impressions a month.
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Africa, Have Your Say - the hour long interactive 91Èȱ¬ radio and online programme formerly known as Africa Live! - will now increase from one day a week to broadcast every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 1600 GMT.
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Listeners can get in touch by telephone: +44 20 7 836 1 836;
text: +44 77 86 20 20 08 and email: africa@bbc.co.uk
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Fast Track is the African sports programme previously broadcast for half an hour.
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Listeners can now enjoy 60 minutes of unrivalled sports news and analysis from the continent and across the world on Mondays and Fridays at 1600 GMT.
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Network Africa - which sets the day's agenda with a popular mix of news, sport, features and music - can now be heard every day.
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On a weekday listeners can hear the programme at: 0330, 0430, 0530, 0630 and 0730 GMT and on Saturdays and Sundays at 0400 and 0600 GMT.
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Other 91Èȱ¬ World Service programmes broadcast specifically for Africa include Focus on Africa, which gives a daily round-up of news and analysis from around the continent while the African Performance season showcases the work of African playwrights.
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There is also special coverage of events such as the African film festival, Fespaco and the African Cup of Nations.
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For sports fans, Sports Roundup is the daily news programme featuring all the major sports stories while World Football on a Saturday is a lively and forthright look at football across the globe.
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Sportsworld and Sunday Sportsworld have all the day's sporting news with reports and reactions.
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