It is very likely that Guglielmo Marconi knew that, when he developed the first practical radio in 1895, he was changing the history of communication. Indeed, he did. In 1920´s the first entertainment radio program was launched in Argentina, where they reproduced one of Wagner´s opera concert. Since then, radio has been used all around the world, and with many different goals.
With the arrival of the television, the music group The Buggles launched Video Killed The Radio Star in 1980, probably because they did not expect the rise of the podcast. This instrument, which allows Internet users to pull audio files, has brought radio back, in a different format. Podcast has become successful because users can listen to audio episodes while doing whatever they want, and they do not need to listen to it live, but when they want. It gives people the liberty to decide when and where they want to listen to it.
With the podcasts, also good practices have arrived: programs like How I Built This, by Guy Raz, who interview innovators and entrepreneurs with successful stories that can motivate and give ambition to youngsters that could follow their steps; In Power, by Louise Aubery, another podcast which is made with aim of inspire young people with great stories of different backgrounds and fields; TED, which can be consumed both in video and podcast, is a platform where people from different disciplines and cultures who seek a deeper understanding of the world.
Podcasts, therefore, have become an important tool to spread stories, ideas or general information that can be reached by people from all ages, which makes it a fantastic option to teach and inspire if it is well used. For this reason, we have developed “Social Radio 2.0: The European School Radio and Podcasting Community for Active Citizenship Education”, with partners from Poland, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain. Social Radio 2.0 is a two-year program funded by Erasmus +, which will upgrade the infrastructure and services of the European School Radio web portal and mobile application, while it highlights the importance of young people’s views on their own radio.
Students who will participate in Social Radio 2.0 will be positively impacted in different levels. This project will provide an exciting and engaging educational approach that will support students develop the necessary 21st century skills (i.e. digital and media literacy, problem solving and agency) that will transform them into active citizens and motivate them to discuss, reflect upon and advocate for community issues they care about. Within project activities and through radio broadcasts and podcasts, students will also be empowered to become changemakers, to do research on community problems and learn to collaborate with media and community actors.