Under the Sun: Creative Writing, Broadcast Media and Debates for Social Change in Africa

Radio is the fastest growing broadcast medium in Africa. This paper will draw upon my experience of designing and implementing the British Council 'Radiophonics' programme in Uganda and Nigeria, 2006-2009. The programme promotes writing skills for radio and led to the launch of the broadcast series 'Under the Sun' on commercial FM. The paper will examine the antecedents of the project, the social context, the pedagogic process, broadcast media and audience response, and the way that African writers position themselves in relation to economic, social and political change in Uganda and Nigeria. It will also explore aspects of Creative Writing as a practice-led research discipline, the development of new writing for radio broadcast, and the promotion of debates that address issues of social and political concern to African societies. In doing so it will draw upon the direct testimony of African writers themselves who participated in the project.