The overall objective of the project is to study poor and marginalised people’s aspirations and how these affect negotiation of citizenry by the influence of radio in rural Nepal. Based on fieldwork in Nepal, the project examines radio from the perspective of poor and marginalised and focus on the consequences for them to become active citizens in a context of major socio-political changes.

The Maoist insurgency, launched 1996 near Libang in Rolpa district, killed more than 13,000 people, injured and displaced thousands and affected millions. Root causes to the revolt can be found in the structural social inequalities into which poor and marginalised are trapped. Now more than ten years later a fragile peace has been established, the king left his palace, and Nepal has embarked the path as a federal democratic republic.

The project focusses on Nepal because the country exemplifies a very timely case. Parallel to the political changes, interdependent radios are emerging in rapid pace and envisaged to play a major role in developing communities and facilitating negotiation of citizenry. Media has been in the eye of the storm during the conflict and major resources and symbolic factors to be gained from the involved in the conflict. Nepal thus provides an opportunity to follow the reinterpretation of values of citizenry through media in the midst of major changes.

The societal upheavals call for an analysis of the prospects for social change at individual and country level and the ways radio can facilitate negotiation of citizenry. To do so, the immediate objectives of the project are to:

• Explore and discuss perceptions, experiences and aspirations of poor and marginalised and major factors influencing and diversifying these.

• Examine how radio shape and are shaped by poor and marginalised aspirations and strategies and what conflict and negotiations these give rise to.

Research will focus on Rolpa as the district until few years ago was unexposed to local electronic media. Two local radio stations have within the last years started broadcasting, which gives scope to explore the spheres and processes of citizenry negotiating by local means of radio in a ‘virgin’ area severely affected by the conflict.