World Radio Day 2012

On November 3, 2011, the 36th General Conference of UNESCO approved the creation of the World Day of Radio to be celebrated each year on 13 February.

Radio technology, which began as "wireless telegraphy," owes its development to two other inventions, the telegraph and the telephone. Since the end of the 19th century, when the first successful radio transmissions were achieved and to this day, radio remains as important means of communications as ever.

With the advent of new technologies and media convergence, radio is being transformed and is moving onto new delivery platforms, such as broadband Internet, mobiles and tablets. In the digital era, radio continues to be relevant, as people digitally tune in via computers, satellite radio and mobile devices.

Despite technological change radio remains the world’s most accessible platform, a powerful communication tool and a low cost medium. It is the mass media that reaches the widest audience in the world.

At the State Library of Queensland we house records that tell the story of the important role radio has played in our society as a source of education, entertainment, and as a means of connecting to the world in remote and urban areas. These records include photographs, transcripts of radio serials, records of radio stations, radio programs and radio related publications, recordings and ephemera.

Happy World Radio Day!

Simon Farley - Arts Portfolio - State Library of Queensland