General Manager of Radio Univers, Dr Kwaku Botwe, has appealed to the University of Ghana management and past volunteers for support, urging them to rally behind the station as it faces significant infrastructural and digital challenges.
He made the appeal during the Touchday event held last Friday, which celebrated the 30-year legacy of former Station Manager, Dr Abubakari Ahmed Sidick. Speaking to a gathering of media professionals, alumni, and current volunteers, Dr Botwe underscored the station’s pressing infrastructural constraints as a major impediment to its growth.
“Radio Univers has produced our standard media professionals since its establishment in 1994, beginning in a small studio behind the Department of Communication Studies block, then School of Communication Studies. Over three decades, the studio remains virtually the same. The infrastructure and technical constraints have not evolved at the pace of the station’s impact.”
He noted that these limitations have severely hampered the station’s ability to thrive in today’s digital media environment.
“The station’s digital presence is, frankly, problematic, students are on iPhones, which no longer have radio tuners. They turn to online platforms to listen, but Radio Univers lacks the infrastructure to go live on Facebook and other digital platforms. Today, relevance is tied to reach and reach is digital.”
Dr. Botwe further expressed deep concern about the station’s lack of digital autonomy, disclosing that the campus-based media outlet does not even control its own website.
“Today’s students live online, yet Radio Univers has no control over its website. It’s managed by a third party outside the university. Whenever there’s a problem, we have to call someone outside, and if they don’t answer, we’re left helpless,” he stated.
He urged past volunteers and the university community to come together to preserve and elevate the legacy of Radio Univers.
“We must come together to preserve and elevate the legacy of Radio Univers. The time to act is now,” Dr. Botwe concluded, making a heartfelt appeal to alumni, university authorities, and stakeholders.
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Story by: Kwadwo Owusu Anane | univers.ug.edu.gh
Edited by: Cindy Selasi Humade
