Democratic Republic of Congo

Internews is implementing a 5-year project, "Media Sector Development Program,"  in the DRC to support the growth and sustainability of dozens of community radio stations across four provinces: Maniema, Bandundu, Katanga and South Kivu. Internews is working with a range of partners to improve the business acumen of community radio stations, drive up professional standards of journalism and support the process of media regulatory reform.

Internews is working in partnership with Fondation Hirondelle, which operates the UN radio in DRC, Radio Okapi. The partnership allows smaller scale community radio stations in DRC to learn from the expertise of Radio Okapi, both in terms of generating revenue and improving production standards, while also offering opportunities to share programs between different provinces. The project is also benefitting from the expertise of Albany Associates (International). Internews and Albany are working together to build a new generation of highly skilled media law experts in DRC who will ultimately review existing media regulations and lobby for improvements to bring DRC’s regulatory environment in line with international standards.

Within DRC, Internews is also partnering with Journalistes en Danger to build their management and advocacy skills, and to support them in the development of new media law, reform of existing media law and in providing legal support to journalists in need.

Internews’ work in the Democratic Republic of Congo is funded by USAID.