The 2023 edition of 110 Hertz Festival was held on 7, 8 and 9 July in Coltano (Pisa) at the Villa Medicea , where Marconi sent his first overseas broadcast. Marconi’s Irish connections are well known and this was a great opportunity to strengthen community radio connections across the seas with other rural towns and stations celebrating radio and community.
As part of the third edition of the festival, the web radio project was back with “Dis-ordinati_Messaggi dal futuro” – “Mixed Messages from the Future”, with stories of the experiences of the older generation, often marginalized by a society that tends to undervalue if not forget them. And perhaps precisely because of the realities of aging and physical weakness, we can learn from the wisdom of their experience, to create a different idea of humanity, based on a past, present and future narrative.
There were live talk shows on the care of the elderly and marginalised, living in rural Italy, together with the writers, journalists, psychiatrists, lawyers, artists and activists present at the festival. Many stories of fragility and community empowerment were shared by the people gathered and with many different perspectives there was a lot of collective learning.
During the three days of the festival, in addition to the scheduled program, there were workshops dedicated to Radio and its enormous potential, still current today, to create and share new scenarios of meaningful work and play by listening to one another.
Four different workshops were planned , designed for those who wanted to experience what it means to broadcast from their own home with Michele Neri from WeRadio; for those interested in vintage radio and to discover all its potential Mirco Roppolo, Radio 3 network gave a great demonstration of the long lasting sound and quality of wave radio. For those who wanted to deepen their personal “voice”, through a path of creative writing, listening and self-awareness through walking in nature our very own John Farragher, from Claremorris community Radio provided some mindful walking and listening exercises. And last but not least, a creative workshop for children and families, gave free rein to the unbridled imagination of the little ones with Matteo Frasca, from Radio Freccia Azzurra, with lots of fun and games.
Everyone has their own voice, and here at CCR 94.6FM there are opportunities for both young and old to learn how to make their own radio shows, share their stories, their voice and vision of the past, present and future. We all have to start somewhere and radio could be the first step in a heroic journey of self-discovery, through the power of community radio!
Marconi with original desktop transmitter c. 1896 (above) / original station buildings c. 1907 courtesy of The Marconi Company
We hope in the future to make more connections with 110 Hertz Radio Festival and Coltano, where Marconi, the father of Radio, first began his journey, which brought him to the west of Ireland. Having been given an impromptu tour of the original site of his lab, as the sun was setting, the only regret was that the guided tour by Professor Giannetti of Marconi Labs, wasn’t captured for our listeners on audio. Oh well, there’s always next year, as we’ll be returning and making more connections with 110 Hertz Radio Festival and Coltano, Marconi Labs and Prof Giannetti who will be coming back to visit Ireland, very soon again, working on a European Horizon project to create more awareness around climate change and the role community radio can play in preserving our coastline and natural environment.
It’s all about effective communication through local and global media networks. Whether it’s analog, digital or web radio festivals, sharing and celebrating the cultural and environmental sounds of our towns, the diversity of voices and shared values of community matters!
For more info. about the festival go to :
www.codepercuriosi.org or FB page @110hertzfestival
And for more info. on what’s happening in Claremorris in the near future or about making your own shows going out locally and on Internet radio google us up on Claremorris Community Radio Station: we’re here to listen and give voice to you.