More than 40 delegates from 19 ABU member organisations gathered for the Radio Working Party to share their experiences at the Union’s General Assembly in Seoul, South Korea.

The half-day meeting was packed with presentations and discussions on some cutting-edge initiatives to improve production, programming and services for audiences.

The working party opened with a welcome from Kim Deock-Jae, Acting President of the host broadcaster KBS. He talked about the development of radio in Korea, starting with the first broadcast in 1927, before it became the public broadcaster known as KBS in 1973. Now operating seven radio networks and celebrating their 50^th anniversary as a public broadcaster this year, he spoke of the continuing challenges of reaching all audiences and using digital technology to develop platforms that engage listeners.

ABU Director of Programming Yasu Nagahata welcomed attendees on behalf of the Union, thanked all participants and speakers and reassured everyone the Union remained fully committed to helping its members in every way possible.

ABU Head of Radio Ms Booyar gave a report on major initiatives over the past 12 months – including international cooperation such as ABU-Rai Days, Radio Sonic, the Pacific Media Partnership Conference, RadioDays Asia, ABU Awards workshops both in-person and over Zoom as well as in-country workshops across the Asia-Pacific region.

During the “Key Challenges and Opportunities for Radio in 2024”, session, the RWP Chair Mistam (RRI Indonesia), Vice Chair Fan Xuan (CMG China) Radio reflected on the radio developments in their countries and what they would be focussing on in 2024.

The Radio Working Party’s final session was the traditional “Around the World with Radio!” showcase, in which members were asked to share programs, initiatives and segments that have been especially successful in the past year, ranging from top rating programs to the newest and most surprising segments.