RCI’s 60th anniversary is a good time to look back at a history filled with remarkable success and rich anecdotes. Its a history worth discovering . . . and rediscovering. Did you know that Radio Canada International has attracted some of the leading lights in Canadian journalism over the years, including future Quebec premier René Lévesque and legendary CBC host Peter Gzowski?
Some might recall that Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King set up a shortwave service during the Second World War to inform and entertain our troops overseas with programming from Canada. But few people are aware that RCI also played a key role in promoting Canadian music. After making its debut on the international scene in 1945, RCI quickly became an ambassador for homegrown artists. Many famous names in Canadian music, including Oscar Peterson and Glenn Gould, made some of their first recordings in RCI studios.
RCI Today
▫ RCI produces programming in nine languages.
▫ More than 300 hours of programming are broadcast each week via shortwave, satellite and www.RCInet.ca.
▫ RCI programs are rebroadcast in over 75 countries through its 300 partner stations.
▫ RCI airs special programming for listeners in Florida and the Caribbean, featuring the best of CBC Radio One and Radio-Canadas Première Chaîne.
▫ Listeners from all over the world participate in RCI phone-in shows.
▫ RCI broadcasts language courses for the whole family.
▫ The daily Cyberjournal provides a roundup of the key news stories.
▫ RCI oversees the Canadian Institute for Training in Public Broadcasting, which offers radio, television and new-media training to journalists, managers and technicians in emerging democracies.
▫ Internet users can listen to live and archived programs in nine languages at www.RCInet.ca and explore a brand-new databank containing over 20,000 links pointing to nearly 200 countries.
A Special 60th Anniversary Contest for
18- to 30-Year-Olds Who Want to Build a Better World . . .
International Development Week (January 30 to February 5) and the UN-sponsored International Year of Microcredit 2005 will be marked in an original way by Développement international Desjardins (DID) and Radio Canada International . . . the two have teamed up to launch Building the Future Now!, a major worldwide contest for 18- to 30-year-olds.
What can we do in 2005 to build a fairer, more prosperous, more equitable world? Young people around the world will be challenged to answer this ambitious question in a short essay or illustration, giving them a chance to win one of two international development education missions organized by DID in partnership with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Prizes are valued at $15,000, and contestants can enter by visiting www.RCInet.ca.
RCI has also produced a series of short radio features, consisting of two- to three-minute interviews with young adults whose lives have benefited from microcredit. They hail from Africa, Latin America and Asia, and can be heard on RCIs international airwaves throughout the year.
Relive the best of RCI on CD and on the Web . . .
We also invite you to visit a special 60th anniversary section of the RCI website, jointly produced by the CBC Archives team and RCI staff. It contains a wealth of radio and TV clipswith different selections in English and Frenchthat look back at the landmark events of the past 60 years on RCI. Judith Jasmin, Maurice Chevalier and René Lévesque are just a few of the stars of yesteryear youll be able to see and hear again. Be sure not to miss this fascinating walk down memory lane at www.RCInet.ca and www.cbc.ca/archives/rci .
A complete press kit with audio and photo archives can be obtained on request – please contact: Denis Pellerin, Communications Director, RCI Promotion, Analysis and Broadcasting, French Radio Communications and RCI, (514) 597-4204
denis_pellerin@radio-canada.ca