World College Radio Day Friday

• Over 700 college radio stations representing more than 50 countries will unite to celebrate World College Radio Day (WCRD), happening worldwide this Friday, October 6.

The annual WCRD 24-Hour Global Marathon featuring college radio stations from around the world will begin at midnight ET on Friday, starting in Fiji, Philippines, Malaysia and China, before wrapping up in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Argentina. Listeners can hear the marathon exclusively on Live365.com, which has donated the resources to make the broadcast happen.

This year’s WCRD theme is “Where All Voices Are Welcome,” and college radio stations around the world are invited to participate for free. “Now, more than ever, we need to remind everyone that college radio is a place for all voices, where every person is respected and encouraged to speak up and join the conversation,” said WCRD Founder Dr. Rob Quicke, who is also Director of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism & Mass Communications at Marshall University in West Virginia. “This year’s theme resonates deeply with our students and listeners, and I’m excited to hear the special content that the students will produce for this year’s event.”

Serving as President for World College Radio Day 2023, Eva Lus Gárate is also President of ARU: la Asociación de Radios Universitarias de España. “College radio gives a voice to groups that big media or traditional companies do not, so let’s enjoy different origins, accents, languages, sensibilities, realities and approaches to life. Because they are all worth it!” says Gárate. This year the ARU team in Spain has organized the Global Marathon content.

The annual WCRD event is organized by the College Radio Foundation, which also raises money for student scholarships and college radio station grants. Quicke added, “We invite all people, companies and organizations that care about the continuing medium of college radio to please donate what they can to the cause at collegeradio.org.”