VOICE OF RUSSIA 2012 COMPETITION : NANJI JANJANI

VII All-Indian Conference of Listeners of the “Voice of Russia” Radio Station

Participants of the VII All-India Conference of the Listeners’ Clubs of the Radio Station “Voice of Russia”, held at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture (RCSC) in New Delhi, were unanimous in making an emphatic call for promoting people-to-people contacts and strengthening bilateral cooperation in reaching the information on Russia to broader sections of people in India. The representatives from Voice of Russia who took part in the Conference comprised Ms. Natalia Benyukh, Special Correspondent, Ms. Tatiana Kopylova, Web-Site Editor, and Mr. Vladimir Ivashin, Web-Site In-Charge. Welcoming the representatives of Voice of Russia and a large gathering of members of listeners’ clubs from all over India, Mr. Fedor Rozovskiy, Director, RCSC, noted in his welcome remarks that the conference assumed special dimension in the sense that it provided a forum to refresh and review creative and fruitful bilateral cooperation between Russia and India in the field of mass communication in the year, when our countries are celebrating the 65th Anniversary of Russian-Indian Diplomatic Relations. Acknowledging the contributions made by Voice of Russia, he said that the RCSC and the Russian Radio Station had been working shoulder-to-shoulder to attain the declared common goal of promoting humanitarian relations between our two countries and consolidating mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples. In his inaugural address, H.E. Mr. Alexander Kadakin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to India, said: “It is heartening to know that these days, when the entire world is experiencing a genuine revolution, drastically changing the global informational canvas, the good old-time radio still holds attraction of its own, and the Voice of Russia’s audience is steadily growing, including that among rural intelligentsia”. In an attempt to meet modern challenges, the radio station itself is changing and expanding the broadcasting range. “As a result, a sociological survey conducted by Geneva-based International Media Organisation among listeners in 50 countries showed that the Voice of Russia holds the third position in the rating of the world’s largest broadcasters, yielding only to such pre-eminent leaders as BBC and the Voice of America”, said the Ambassador. Referring to the Radio Station’s search for new forms of presentation and aspiration for genre diversity, H. E. Mr. Alexander Kadakin  cited “News from around the globe”, “The Club of the Voice of Russia listeners”, “Programme for the youth” and the “Literary programme”. Appreciating good response shown by the Indian audience, Ms. Natalia Benyukh, Special Correspondent, Voice of Russia, said that the Radio Station is going to start a new multi-media web-site in the English language aimed at its listeners in South Asia. The web-site will comprise photo, video and audio materials as well as a forum for open interaction between the Voice of Russia and its listeners. Dwelling upon the new projects under consideration, Mr. Vinay Manik, Project Director, Fever FM Radio Station, suggested that consistent efforts have to be made to draw more and more Indian youth into the listeners’ clubs and preparing ground for their active involvement. He also pointed out that a ‘marriage section’ has to be incorporated to the Russian Radio Station with a view to encouraging marriages between citizens from both sides. The Conference was addressed by Mr. Jasbr Nischal, General Secretary, Indian Association of Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Ms. Nirmal Bhatnagar, Dean, Department of Mass Communication, Jagannath Institute of Management Studies, who lauded the significant role played by Voce of Russia disseminating information on Russia and promoting bilateral friendship and cooperation. During the conference representatives of the Voice of Russia awarded the winners of the Radio Quiz on Indo-Russian relations. Nanji Janjani , teacher from Gujarat got first prize.  Natalia Benyukh VOR Correspondence and Tanya Kopylova VOR Hindi announcer  Tanya Kopylova VOR Hindi announcer  with VOR listener Nanji Janjani