Day 7 of the 10-day Parallel Lives programme – how do people choose to express Memories of Home?
How do we keep the memories alive when we move away from our home? What is the purpose…is it to keep hold of cherished moments with a person or to preserve a way of life that is or has disappeared. On this occasion, I was fortunate to meet someone who kept her Memories of Home alive by creating an opportunity to improve it when she returned.
I was thrust into the role of Independent Study Masters ISMA Supervisor in the 2019/20 Academic year. It pushed me outside my usual zone of comfort, of that I’m sure! But as with all things of this nature, it threw open a door that I was not expecting.
The student was a Bangladeshi national, Farida Khanom. I was aware of her dissertation theme as it was a topic of conversation with my colleague, Dr Rob Watson a few months before I met her. We immediately realised our connection was the East End of London. She was living in an area close to where I grew up, and I can clearly remember as a young man the arrival of the Bangladeshi community while at school.
Her proposal was simple. To focus on something she was passionate about – Community Radio. Do her research on an existing Community Radio station – Sagardwip 99.2FM. Then look to return home and start her own station. We had many fascinating conversations and I was able to share my knowledge of the sector in her country after many years supporting my friend, Mr Bazlur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer at Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC).
The end result of Farida’s research was a dissertation that gained a Distinction. You can see from the images below that the document was placed in the Bangladesh section of the Parallel Lives project for others to access.
‘Title: The role of Community Radio in ensuring marginal people’s participation in development: A case study on Community Radio Sagardwip 99.2FM, Hatiya, Upazila, Bangladesh‘
Well done Farida!
Doc Media Centre 