Sawt Raya Radio is an independent audio-visual Syrian foundation that was born out of a need to answer to some serious Syrian dilemmas, regarding the Syrian society, its form, the relations between its members and the Syrian identity.
The team of Sawt Raya, by adopting a neutral policy on their news coverage, seeks to be a voice for all Syrians regardless of their ideological affiliations. “For one to sympathize with the victims of war in Syria, one must not look further than the blinding truth, there is no need for propaganda or biases on our part. What matters the most now is discussing the Syrian identity, which will be reconstructed progressively with time to come, with the reminder that the media's message will not be immediate in impact and effect,” according to one of the activists involved in the project.
The radio programs of Sawt Raya mostly revolve around the concept of the Syrian memory and identity. “Syrian Morning” is a daily program that discusses issues related to the questions people have on the identity of the radio. Another program called “Once Upon A Time” highlights the small details about living in Syria through story-telling. “Politicize Your Mind”, gives simplified definitions to the political terms that are circulating in the social and political arena in Syria. Other programs include “Grandpa”, a series of interactive and entertaining shows addressed to children, “Goal”, a sports program, and “The intellect and power”, a narrative program that discussed intellectuals, authority and the relationship between the two.
Most of the radio's staff have backgrounds in media, and have been through several training courses in collaboration with established audio-visual organizations. Regarding the funding of the radio, an activist says “The biggest funding comes from Raya Foundation for media development. Nevertheless, we are free to work and make decisions in the radio the way we want, and there are absolutely no policies or restrictions imposed on us by the foundation."
