Empowerment Through Equity

The project also created lasting connections with individuals and community organisations that continue to enrich the station’s journalism.

By combining radio, digital publishing and face-to-face distribution through community partners, the project reached both digitally active audiences and people with limited online access. Listeners and organisations increasingly contacted the newsroom with questions, topic suggestions and stories, strengthening Radio Velenje’s role as a trusted and inclusive local platform.

Project Activities

With the funding, Radio Velenje implemented the following activities:

• Produced and broadcast 36 weekly radio programmes featuring local stories, expert knowledge and lived experience related to inequality, inclusion, resilience and access to rights and services.
• Produced and broadcast 72 short radio segments, aired twice per week, providing concise, practical and fact-based information.
• Published project content online in the dedicated “Moč skozi pravičnost” section and promoted it through Radio Velenje’s social media channels.
• Printed and distributed 2,000 flyers and 500 booklets through community organisations and local contact points, ensuring access for people with limited digital connectivity.
• Actively involved women, young people, ethnic minorities, migrants and foreign residents, social workers, educators, community organisations and people with lived experience as guests, contributors and sources.

These activities broadened Radio Velenje’s source network, introduced new voices into its editorial output and strengthened direct dialogue with communities across the Šaleška and Koroška regions. Several new contacts later became contributors to regular programming beyond the funded activities, extending the project’s value for the outlet and its audiences.

What is the impact?

The project had a meaningful local impact in countering news deserts because it expanded the range of public-interest information and perspectives available in the Šaleška and Koroška regions. It gave sustained editorial space to people and issues that are often overlooked in mainstream or highly centralised coverage, including the experiences of minorities, migrants and foreign residents, low-income families, young people, older people and community organisations. Regular radio programmes, short segments, online articles and printed materials ensured that this information was not limited to a single platform or to audiences with reliable digital access.

The project also strengthened the local information ecosystem itself. More individuals and organisations approached Radio Velenje with stories, questions and proposals for future coverage, helping the newsroom identify issues that might otherwise remain invisible. The resulting network of sources and contributors continues beyond the grant period, improving the outlet’s capacity to provide inclusive, locally rooted journalism and sustain media plurality in the region.

The clearest positive change was greater visibility and participation for people who are often underrepresented in local media. Community members increasingly contacted the newsroom, proposed topics, asked to present their work and shared personal experiences. This showed that audiences did not only receive information; they also recognised Radio Velenje as an open and trusted place where their concerns and perspectives could be heard.

Project Links

• Moč skozi pravičnost
• Pravičnost, ne le enakost
• Razkrij lažno novico v 3 korakih
• Radio Velenje / Naš čas Facebook page
• Radio show 1
• Radio show 2
• Radio show 3

Project Pictures

Photo by NAŠ ČAS, d.o.o.