This summer Kootenay Coop Radio will be offering it’s second annual Youth Radio Camps. This is an amazing opportunity
for youth to come and experience what community cooperative radio is all about.
There will be four camp weeks for four different age groups, each week running from Monday to Friday. During the course
of the week they will learn how to use radio to weave words and music, interviews in the studio, on the phone, and out on
the street, and how to do all the technical aspects of airing a show. They will put together public service announcements
and sponsorship spots, as well as editing pre-recorded material, working with sound effects, and learning how to use
different mood musics in the background of spoken word pieces. We will also be building simple FM radios, doing a mix
tape/cd exchange, exploring the vast KCR music library and perhaps even doing some short radio plays. Campers of each
week will work together to produce a live hour-long show. This show will air on the Friday of each camp week for Kootenay
Co-op Radio’s “Debuts and Encores” slot at 12:00 noon.
So why should youth learn about radio? We believe it is imporant because radio is a medium that reaches thousands of
people in the community and worldwide, a potent resource for us all to have a our voices heard. What they will experience
here at Kootenay Coop Radio is what makes a cooperative radio station different from corporate media and why working
together cooperatively ensures the truest representation of the people that listen. Through the camps we hope to make
radio more accessible for all ages and hopefully inspire the kids to become more involved here, perhaps volunteering to
host or tech their own shows in the future as some of last year’s campers did.
Cooperation and cooperative organizations are the way of the future and inspiring these values in our youth is crucial to
the well-being of our transitioning world. We should never underestimate the power of good communication, it is indeed
one of the most powerful tools we have. These camps are about creating a new appreciating the languages we speak and
all the sounds around us that we have access to. After all, we will speak a finite amount of words in a lifetime, so we might
as well make them the best words we can think of!
Reading about the history of radio I came across some interesting definiations. The word “radio” is based on the verb to
radiate which comes from the Latin “radius” meaning “spoke of a wheel, beam of light, or ray.” Also, the word
“broadcasting” is actually an agricultural term, meaning “scattering seeds”.
So, if we have the chance to radiate peaceful energy in the form of radio waves, and if we can broadcast good seeds of
sound and information and music out into the community, country, world, and cosmos, then shouldn’t we do this?
And shouldn’t we teach our kids to do it too?

The youth radio campers will be trained on the following:

• The importance of Cooperative Community Radio.
• How to speak and mix music like a real DJ.
• How to pre-record and edit radio announcements, sponsorships, interviews, and spoken word pieces.
• How to tech a show using the mixing board, CD & LP players.
• How to interview like a professional, both on-air, out in the community, and over the phone.
• How to plan and produce interesting radio programming.

Campers of each week will work together to produce a live hour-long show. This show will air on the Friday of each camp week for Kootenay Co-op Radio’s “Debuts and Encores” slot at 12:00 noon.

The dates and ages for each of the camp weeks:
Ages 9-11: July  13-17
Ages 11-13:  July 27-31
Ages 13- 15: August 10-14
Ages 15-18: August 17-21

Costs are $250 for non-members, $200 for members and there will also be some bursaries available.
For more information and to register: radiocamp@kootenaycoopradio.com, or
250-352-9600.