Luis Távara and Florencie Cremona © Graham Freer/ Progressio

Luis Távara is a trainer in radio for ALER, the Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica, en Quito, Ecuador.   Luis is Peruvian.

When ALER was founded in the 70s, it decided that education through the radio would be the centre of its activity.   From then on many things have changed and the organization has grown and become specialized.   It currently works in 17 countries of the region and has 120 broadcasting stations - its flag project is education on the environment.   Luis is the radio trainer for ALER and gives courses in several countries.

In ALER Luis has carried out the coordination of the Proyecto de Ciudadanía Ambiente Global (Citizens' Global Environment Project), which is at the moment running in 7 countries of the region, in coordination with 6 citizen networks covering Latin America.   'An environmental education strategy has been devised, aimed at radio staffs; support materials have been produced, and a book edited, and workshops on environmental topics are taking place, in which at the same time the communication strategies of radio are being designed, so as to impinge on the environmental agenda of countries and regions.'

Luis's role includes:

• Support in the accompaniment of the Equipo Latinoamericana de Formación (ELFO) with consultancy and the production of materials.   It includes workshops.
• Coordination of the Proyecto Ciudadanía Ambiental Global
• Consultor in the process of internal renewal of the radio stations of the Instituto Radiofónico Fe y Alegría (Radio Institute Faith and Joy).

The courses which Luis organizes have an important multiplying effect.   'My main achievement is at this level, expressed not only in the elaboration of documents and materials, but in the designing of the Formation Plan, and the accompaniment of a team of  8 trainers in Radio, who in their turn are accompanying 37 radio stations, two national radio coordinators and a production centre.'

Nevertheless, it is not easy to reach everyone.   Luis describes the logistic problems he has to confront sometimes, since there are 'difficulties in communication with parts of Latin America which have weak telephone and Internet connections.'

The workshops have been a huge success, but what really impressed Luis was the effect of the workshop in Havana, 'journalists from all over the island came to it.   I feared that some of the themes I was going to treat with this public could be seen by the participants as counter-revolutionary, or at least suspicious.'   However, his opinion changed as the workshop went on, 'when I came to treat these themes, there were a lot of questions and participation of those present, and, so as to respond, I had to have recourse not only to a theoretic handling of the themes, but also to my previous experience as a journalist and radio director.' 

The surprise came at the end: 'The evaluation of the participants of the workshop and of my part was, however, one of the best I have had… and what they most appreciated was precisely that I had spoken sincerely about my deepest opinions and beliefs.   This made me think that I was able to touch, in this workshop at least, the very essence of my belief, which is cooperation: to be able to be what one is, so as to support a particular group in producing a specified change.'   And he heard of this change before long: it was not foreseen that a second workshop would be given in Cuba, far less set up an Environmental Network, at least within the coordinated political communication systems that Luis had worked on with them; but they called him to ask him to go back and give a second workshop with them, because they were beginning to set up the network.

The programme for the training of radio technicians which Luis Tavara takes part in in Ecuador is financed thanks to the help of the Department for International Development of the British government.