The "Radio Namaste project 2017" Part-2, in Switzerland commenced from the 11th of November till the 27th of November, 2017 in the serene and scenic city of Lausanne (Canton of Vaud). It all began with a cordial and warm welcome by our Swiss counterparts at the Geneva airport on a very rainy and freezing winter morning. This was followed by an exciting drive to our place of accommodation, "Jeunotel Youth Hostel, Lausanne” which was a very comfortable and cozyplace of stay. We made some beautiful and cherishable memories here and also got an opportunity to interact with people of different nationalities.
The project was in continuation to the Part-1 project which was successfully held and completed in Christ University, Bangalore, India in the month of October. It was truly an incredible and worthwhile opportunity for the ten Indian delegates (Pre-Service teachers & final year students of B.Ed. and M.A Education) representing School of Education, Christ University, Bangalore and ten Swiss delegates representing HEP, Switzerland to be a part of this prestigious educational research project. This is an academic collaboration between Christ University, Bangalore and HEP (Haute écolepédagogique), Lausanne, Switzerland wherein the aspiring school teachers and educators representing their respective countries, collaboratively researched on some prominent and relevant topics and issues in the field of education and finally presented it to the general public through broadcasting it live on the radio. The students were divided into 5 groups of 4 members each comprising of 2 Indian students and 2 Swiss students.
The broadcast started at 8 am on the 24th of November with Group-1:discussing on the physical and psychological aspects of child safety and security in schools. This was followed by Group- 2 and they discussed about extra-curricular activities in schools. Similarly, Group- 3 spoke about Formation of teachers and Group- 4 about School Curriculum. The show ended at 1 pm with Group- 5’s discussion on Girl Child Education. There were many spectators for the show which made the ambience on a whole colourful and lively. It was a huge success and we believe it was a perfect platform for the aspiring teachers to put across the need for education, globalized education and about the educational reforms in an interesting manner by addressing it live on AIR with a perfect blend of meaningful chronicles, jingles along with some interesting Swiss and Indian songs.
During the course of the project, we got to work with certain technical tools, especially, like“Audacity” to edit the interviews and jingles.Also, the visit to RTS, Swiss public broadcasting organization, was a perfect chance to get a live exposure of what radio broadcasting would look like in Switzerland.
It was on the 28th of November, we packed our bags to come back home. This exchange programme was so enriching in every aspect of its formulation that we feel privileged to be part of it. The entire HEP family went to great lengths to make our stay worthwhile, from the campus tour to the trips to the chocolate factory, village of Gruyère, the beautiful Château de Chillon and experiencing the magnificent Alps at Diablerets.
Our heartfelt gratitude to Christ University and especially the Department of Education for giving us this wonderful opportunity to understand and broaden our perspectives about another culture which we think is necessary of our every evolving need as teachers. To conclude, all in all, these two weeks was truly culturally enriching and intellectually broadening as it provided the students to learn new things not only about radio broadcasting and the educational systems but also about the people, culture and how we are so different from each other yet how we are so similar in so many beautiful ways.
