Thanks to the signing of a technical agreement between UNESCO and Sudan’s Ministry of Information, the project “Promoting human development among Sudan’s rural communities: supporting radio broadcasters in Eastern Sudan States” has officially taken off. The project, financed by the Italian Development Cooperation Agency – AICS with 300,000 euros, will be implemented by the UNESCO in close cooperation with the overseas office of AICS in Khartoum.

The project aims to enhance the reach of community radio networks in the rural areas of Eastern Sudan through training activities and the production of new contents and programmes for radio broadcasts, focusing on education, promoting human development and community spirit among rural populations and to consolidate the network of rural radio broadcasters.

By recognising the value of the project aimed at promoting human development and the principles underlying the initiative, the official support of the Ministry of Information thus assumes a deep-reaching political value in the African Country, also in view of the location of the project. The Eastern States of Sudan (Red Sea, Kassala and Gedaref) are among the most disadvantaged regions needing assistance, all the more today because of the illegal migration routes from the Horn of Africa on which Italian Development Cooperation has been focusing most of its attention.

“Today we witnessed a very important signal. Sudan continues on the road towards a freer information and communication system in the sign of solidarity and social inclusion and integration: the tactics of controlling information is slowly giving way to the strategy of managing knowledge!” said the Italian Ambassador in Sudan, Fabrizio Lobasso.

Sudan’s Information Minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, thanked Italy’s Government and Development Cooperation Agency for the generous contribution and UNESCO for the great professionalism shown in implementing it, adding that Sudan is gradually acquiring stability and peace also thanks to the contribution of initiatives of this type, in which Italy’s contribution has proved to be absolutely essential.