We are so happy to be able to say that we will be broadcasting from Phonic FM Exeter’s Community Radio on the 8th of March 2021, International Women’s Day.
Programme
8.00-9.00 Josie Sutcliffe and Natalie McGrath
“The Future’s Here, And We Can’t Go Back” – Starts Here!
Hosted by Dreadnought South West Co-Directors and founders Josie Sutcliffe and Natalie McGrath. This opening Occupy the Airwaves show will kick off the day with a range of responses by their guests to the provocation: “The Future’s Here, And We Can’t Go Back” (inspired by the Sleater Kinney song), alongside playing amazing tunes by brilliant women.
9.00-10.00 Stellaria Media
Lightning Birds: A Game of Sonic Tag
A unique, fast-paced radio production challenge, responding to the 2021 International Women’s Day theme of ‘Choose to Challenge’. 30 artists from around the UK will make a short radio feature in a day. Creating meaningful connections through remote, artistic collaborations, this format is designed to fit with women’s overstretched lives and the increased pressures of being isolated at home during lockdown. The format asks 30 women from a network of artists and community radio practitioners to each make a two-minute, original piece from their own home. Each will have heard only the piece that comes before hers – and won’t hear the others until the broadcast
10.00-11.00 Gillian Taylor
Keeping in touch – using digital technology to tell stories and stay connected
Gillian Taylor will be talking to Sue Newhook, a Professor of Journalism at University King’s College Halifax (Canada) and former journalist with CBC, and Corinne Podger, an independent media development consultant working with newsrooms and NGOs on affordable content solution. They’ll be discussing journalism, mobile journalism and tech, as well as how we’ve been connecting digitally during the pandemic.
With contributions from Saara Rantanen (MTV, Finland), Bianca-Maria Rathay (SoHandy Videography, Germany) and Kira Taylor (EURACTIV, Belgium)
11.00-12.00 Dalal Almousalli
The life of the Arab woman in Exeter
A collection of Arabic music and conversations with Arab women living in Devon
12.00-13.00 Anne Marie Culhane
The Sea in me
Activism, Sustaining life on the planet, The ocean, Science, The Arts, Sea Swimming – being human in a world made up mostly of water. The show takes inspiration from scientist, writer and activist Rachel Carson (who kickstarted the environmental movement in the 1960s) and her book The Sea Around Us.
With guests: Dr Ceri Lewis, Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter; Cordelia Roberts, Marine Biological Association; Naomi Hart, artist; Shelley Castle, artist; Louisa Adjoa Parker, writer, Lora Fleming, Chair of Oceans, Epidemiology and Human Health, University of Exeter; Hannah Martin, musician and songwriter; Catherine Cartwright, artist and Exmouth sea swimmers.
13.00-15.00 Resilient Women
Resilience, Recovery, Belonging and a Love of Music.
CoLab Exeter’s Resilient Women Programme has been in existence since 2017 and supports women across the community. The women have a vast spectrum of life experience and CoLab supports them to empower each other towards future resilience and connection.
Through the lockdowns, four members of the group have studied radio production in order to bring this special programme to Occupy the Airwaves.
15.00-16.00 Sandhya Dave
Get back to where you belong?
In conversation about being Cultural Champions and exploring the theme of belonging. How our work in schools and the community enables us to establish ourselves as citizens who have a right to be here, how this has been questioned historically, especially since Brexit.
Guest: Neomi Alam – Diversity trainer and consultant
16.00-17.00 Anne Barnes and Kerrie Seymour
Craftivism Conversation and Connections
Arts Activists Anne Barnes and Kerrie Seymour explore women’s roles in the craftivist movement and the power art holds to change the world.
Guests: Nicci Wonnacott Arts activist, Jodie Crawford – Rebellious Threads participant, Carol McFadden – Lace Maker and Lucy MacKeith -Historian
17.00-18.00 Cathy Towers
The Freedom Show
Phonic FM DJ Cathy Towers interviews Mandy Barnes from Devon Rape Crisis on the history of the Reclaim The Night movement. They discuss the freedom for all women to walk safely where they wish without curfew, and without fear of assault or rape. There are also fab tunes, including those inspired by the theme.
18.00-19.00 Sharifa Hashem
Women at the front line of Covid
Exploring the experiences of women at the front line of Covid in their own words. In the 12 months like no other we have experienced, it is not only important to look at the contributions women have made but also the impact this has had on their personal and professional lives
19.00-20.00 Kerrie Seymour Poets and clowns
A vibrant mix of Spoken word, interviews, music, comedy and clowning
Kerrie will be joined by Poet Jackie Juno who will be sharing some of her music and poetry with us and Dr of clowning Maggie Irving who will be chatting to us about her work, inspirations and treating us to some interactive clowning across the airwaves.
Guests: Jackie Juno – Poet, writer and celebrant, Maggie Irving – performer, writer and clown
20.00-21.00 Stellaria Media (repeat)
Lightning Birds: A Game of Sonic Tag
A unique, fast-paced radio production challenge, responding to the 2021 International Women’s Day theme of ‘Choose to Challenge’. 30 artists from around the UK will make a short radio feature in a day. Creating meaningful connections through remote, artistic collaborations, this format is designed to fit with women’s overstretched lives and the increased pressures of being isolated at home during lockdown. The format asks 30 women from a network of artists and community radio practitioners to each make a two-minute, original piece from their own home. Each will have heard only the piece that comes before hers – and won’t hear the others until the broadcast.
21.00-22.00 Silai
We The Future: sounds of the future, women of the future.
Important Hip Hop by and conversations with women of colour. Radical soundscapes painted through music, conversations, poetry and spoken word. A celebration, reflection and call to action in one programme.
Guests: Ali – a BA student studying Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and co founder of the Roots Collective, Amira Toureche – a PhD student working on Algerian Post-colonial Politics from an Indigenous Amazigh (Chaoui) Perspective.
22.00-00.00 Helen Connole
Back to the future Dance Partay
A selection of music from past to present by female artistes
All programmes this year have been pre-recorded to ensure everyone is safe and well during this time of a global pandemic.
Occupy the Airwaves 2021 has forged ahead and twelve women undertook broadcasting training to learn how to make a radio programme, and to discover more about production. This was led by John Wigzell of Ear, Knows and Throat, with a series of guest presenters. Many thanks to John, Alice Armstrong, Faye Hatcher and Mair Bosworth.
This year we also worked in partnership with Co-Lab Exeter’s Resilient Women, who have made two programmes. Thanks go to Jeanie Lynch for working with us on this partnership.
Airing on International Women’s Day Monday 8th March 2021 on Phonic FM 106.8 Exeter’s Community Radio for 16 hours from 8am until Midnight. Many thanks to Phonic FM and all its regular DJs who gave up their weekly slot to enable this to happen.
Many thanks to all our funders for supporting this work; Awards for All, Elmgrant Trust, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at Exeter University, Devon County Councillors through their locality budgets, and the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage from DCMS and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Massive thanks to Players of the National Lottery.
Many thanks to all the programme producers, hosts, and their guests! To Kerrie Seymour for making sure the programmes were all made and for supporting those who were making them. To our Trustees who enable us to make events like this happen. To Gillian Taylor and Mary Culhane for all their PR and Marketing work that has made the project visible at this time.
We are really excited to be able to continue this amazing work, whilst also very sad that we won’t be gathering in person at Exeter Phoenix as in previous years.
Our Occupy The Airwaves 2020 broadcast was a finalist in the National Community Radio Awards as part of Phonic FM’s offer, which is amazing for a first submission. This was out of over four hundred entries! Click here to listen to last year’s programmes
.A testimony to everyone involved! Thank you!