"The following contribution about radio ECORA in Bolivia describes the motives, goals, contents, and methods of a radio project in an indigenous region where the people live in situations of cult ural and economic domination and are still in the process of defining and defending their own interests.
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Radio offers them an opportunity to gain new appreciation for their autochthonous languages and to practice using them. It supports the indigenous population in their search for their own identity and self worth. The project described in this article took place thirty years ago, which is a long time in the development of our field of continuing education. The methodological approach, however, is just as current as its objectives. The example of ECORA, which Jorge Aliaga Murillo describes from his own experience, shows that in countries where acute situations of conflict exist, community radio projects linked with socially committed efforts to represent the interests of disadvantaged groups, are capable – and perhaps even obliged – to assume the role of opposition, even if it involves confrontation with the State and its mechanisms of control. It is also clear from the history of ECORA, which was not able to survive under the Bolivian dictatorship, that such projects cannot disassociate themselves from conflicts resulting from the stands they take. The closure of ECORA, however, was not the end of commitment to promote community radio. Other projects were able to build on the experience gained from ECORA, and they further developed their methods in similar endeavours. Radio San Gabriel was one such project that received support from DVV International for its bilingual measures. The work of Radio ECORA was carried on by “Qhana”, an organization which is still active today not only in the province of La Paz, but throughout the entire country." (Introduction)
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