Podcasting for Senior Citizens’ Catalyses is funded by the National Institute for Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. This communication is being shared on behalf of the project’s Principal Investigator and the Vice President of the Media4Community Foundation.
Senior living communities like the Heritage Foundation are joining hands as partners in this ongoing initiative to engage and empower senior citizens.
The Project, aptly named ‘Anubhav,’ is being carried out in several Senior Living Communities across India.
Media4Community Foundation, based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, is responsible for implementing this Project across various locations based on the guidelines issued by the National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.
The National Institute of Social Defence has entrusted Media4Community Foundation to set up a comprehensive recording facility in the premises that will include a recording booth with some recording equipment like microphones, headphones and mixers. Communities are requested to allocate an appropriate, preferably indoor, space for the same.
Initial training will be provided to a team of senior citizens/ residents from the community to create content for the programmes and usage of recording equipment and software for recording and editing these audio programmes.
The initiative focuses on creating audio programmes and podcasts that celebrate senior citizens/residents and their experiences. These Programmes would cater to the needs of Senior Citizens/residents and also involve them actively in the process of content creation.
Through the podcasts, seniors can express their talents and views, share their experiences and knowledge, conduct interviews and discussions, using it as a platform to voice their thoughts and aspirations to a wider audience.
The project is structured to create a minimum of 100 audio programmes per year, i.e. 2 programmes per week. The programmes will be uploaded on the Internet Radio platform i-radiolive.com. The programmes will also be made available on other podcast platforms like Google, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The following facilities are required to be arranged at the senior living community premises:
- An 8×8 indoor space, preferably in a corner with an electricity connection and UPS facility to set up the recording booth.
- A desktop or laptop computer in working condition with a reasonable configuration.
- A dedicated internet broadband connection with good speed and bandwidth.
- Assistance in ensuring the safety and maintenance of the recording booth and equipment during the project tenure.
Media4community Foundation will get the booth installed after making temporary partitions, false ceilings and acoustic treatment.
It will source good audio recording consoles/mixers/recorders with microphones and sound cards, etc. In essence, it will provide a soundproof audio recording facility after signing a simple agreement.
This programme is being rolled out nationally in a hybrid format across 10 locations in India, and continues to gain momentum with active participation from senior communities.