About Us

Indigenous Radio is to advance the cause of Indigenous-led, for and by Indigenous community, established to best realize indigenous peoples’ freedom of expression and right to media’ as per UN United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Article 16. Indienous Community radio is one of the preferred media platform for Indigenous Peoples in Nepal for defending their rights to freedom of expressions and providing information on the issues affecting them in the language they speak and understand.

Indigenous Radio is a wing under Indigenous Media Foundation which facilitates the knowledge, resource and share skills. Similarly, it aims to promote, protect, and strengthen the capacity of the indigenous community radios so that each radio can contribute to positive transformation of community they are serving and help access information in the language they understand and enjoy freedom of speech. The team manages two-Indigenous-led community radios and coordinates with Indigenous radios and periodically organizes training and workshops for Indigenous journalists. The value community radio brings to Indigenous people is innumerable. It is imperative that Indigenous Community Radio supports Indigenous radio producers, volunteers, and language activists in their efforts to legalize community-controlled media as a form of supporting Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Radio is the major medium for Indigenous Peoples to communicate in Nepal. It is an important source of information and is accessible to Indigenous Peoples because most people have a radio in their home. Community radio in Nepal also has the potential to promote the voices and participation of Indigenous Peoples in public discourse at the national and local levels. On commercial radio, Indigenous Peoples’ issues are inadequately covered and often politicized. Therefore, in order to serve the poor and marginalized Indigenous Peoples and amplify their voices, Indigenous Media Foundation made an effort to set up Indigenous Community Radios. The Indigenous Radio now has been actively engaged in promoting and supporting the growth and strengthening of indigenous community radio in Nepal mainly through technical inputs, capacity building to producers, developing reference materials, conducting lobby and advocacy works, so that indigenous community radio are able to be best platform for Nepalese indigenous peoples to have their say.

In Nepal, census records state that Indigenous peoples comprise about 36% of the total population of 26 million, but Indigenous organizations place this figure closer to 50%. The 2011 census reported 125 caste and ethnic groups. The government has officially recognized 59 of these groups as Indigenous Peoples, or Adivasi Janajati (Indigenous Nationalities), as they are officially known. Of the 123 languages spoken in Nepal, 95% are spoken by Indigenous Peoples. Even though Indigenous peoples make up a significant portion of Nepal’s population, they have been marginalized in terms of land, resources, languages, culture, law, and economic opportunities. The new constitution, adopted in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake, has been disowned by Indigenous Peoples for denying their rights.