Final Evaluation Report: Aceh Youth Radio Project

Major Findings

Personal

• AYRP has brought substantial changes to the life of participants, here defined as team leaders, youth reporters and radio presenters. Most noted an improvement in their status within their respective communities after joining SFCG, and they now feel that they have a role in the peace-building process. Evaluators found many success stories of positive transformation which are further described in the personal transformation chapter.
• Geunderang Damee listeners’ levels of understanding of issues affecting Acehnese society has improved, helping advance a productive dialogue. Most of them feel that false perceptions and miscommunications exacerbate tensions which can be blown out of proportion. However, some listeners still exhibit negative attitudes or apportion blame, which is unproductive in terms of reaching common ground, and could lead to negative behaviour.

Relational

• AYRP established broad networks among different communities across Aceh. Team Leaders were found to be fundamental in establishing these networks.
• The social status of the vast majority of AYRP participants (team leaders, youth reporters and presenters) has improved since joining the project. Their friends, family, and colleagues now see them as professional journalists, and think that they have good knowledge of the conflict and post-conflict Aceh. As such, AYRP project participants are more frequently engaged in community discussions than before, and their opinions are highly respected by their peers. Moreover, their friends rely on them to represent their opinions and concerns about society.
• The choice of content and stories that talk about differences within Aceh’s society helped in creating networks among youth of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Fauzan, a youth reporter from Bireun, explained how he contacted the leader of the local Chinese community and invited him to speak at the talk show. He considered this a crucial moment because his friends openly recognised the Chinese as part of the Bireun community.

Structural

• The Aceh Youth View Reports are an innovative platform for expressing the views of Acehnese youth. All decision makers interviewed found them to be useful, and appreciated their value as a new path to understanding.
• Decision makers discussed issues raised by youth with their colleagues after the meeting. All of those interviewed said that they would come to future meetings that highlight youth and peacebuilding issues, such as the Youth View Report presentations.
• The presentation style should be changed in order to be more effective. Most of the decision makers interviewed asked for a clearer agenda with main points supported by statistical data.

Cultural

• The evaluators found that, in general, the team leaders, reporter and radio presenters were capable of resolving issues of stereotyping or generalizations that emerged in field reporting, from phone-ins to the interactive talk shows, as well as via incoming SMS, received at the AYRP office in Banda Aceh.
• Overall, radio presentations, reporting packages, and interviews were delivered in a manner that would diminish cultural prejudices on the topics related to peace building and development