. for the colombian radio station not affiliated with united nations radio see un radio colombia . united nations radio type international public broadcaster availability international owner united nations launch date 1946 official website radio.un.org united nations radio is the international broadcasting service of the united nations and is distributed by partner national radio stations and the world radio network acquired by babcock international 1 in may 2015 sirius satellite radio xm satellite radio . un radio produces content daily for its websites weekly features and radio programmes about the work of the un and its country members interviews and unedited audio for more than 2 000 partner radio stations around the world . in 2001 the portuguese language service under the direction of joao lins de albuquerque and led by maya plentz 2 started a pilot to produce a website and distribute the news via ftp to partner stations reducing distribution costs significantly . former under secretary general for public information sashi tharoor supported un radio efforts to become a digital organisation . at the time un radio studios were falling apart with outdated equipment and expensive and poorly managed distribution systems that still relayed mostly on sending cassette tapes via regular mail to partner stations in africa asia and latin america in conflict and post conflict zones . the portuguese language radio service started broadcasting a daily 5 min bulletin in portuguese for african radio partner stations and another in brazilian portuguese for partners in brazil asia latin america and europe in 2001 . the news stories and features are then distributed worldwide through radio partner stations that use the original material produced by un radio these include radio france international bbc world news radio difusao portuguesa rdp radiobras now ebc and cbn . while other language services continue the 15 minute daily news programme format these services in arabic english french and russian now also provide individual news and feature stories through their respective websites as well as access to unedited audio from meetings interviews news conferences and special events to enable journalists in newsrooms around the world to cover un activities . contents 1 languages 2 history 3 transmission 3.1 founding partnerships 3.2 shortwave broadcasts 4 live program and new formats 4.1 live program 4.2 new format 4.3 web and social media 4.4 call to listen 4.5 mobile apps 5 un radio s anti apartheid programme section 6 un radio and peacekeeping operations 7 awards 8 references 9 external links languages edit un radio produces over 1 200 original features per year in the six official un languages plus mandarin portuguese swahili and bengali reaching an estimated audience of 30 million worldwide a week . un radio content is distributed around the world via the internet ftp isdn and telephone lines . its websites have 100 million unique visitors a week . un radio portuguese language service won awards for its website and its weekly programs africa na onu and un in action featuring ambassador ronaldo sardenberg former science and technology minister of brazil ambassador gelson fonseca jr. un high commissioner for human rights the late sergio vieira de mello ambassador luiz felipe de seixas correa chair of the world health organisation intergovernmental negotiating body on the framework convention on tobacco control 3 brazilian minister of foreign affairs celso lafer on the doha negotiations and the trips accord who were interviewed by maya plentz news editor producer and presenter at un radio 2001 2002 2003 . all programs are available online and archived at the un library in new york . history edit the league of nations radio nations broadcasts began in 1929 first via the transmitter of the dutch station pcjj and beginning in 1932 from the league s own transmitters hbl and hbp in switzerland . radio nations last broadcast was in 1939 . 4 un radio began broadcasting in 1946 from makeshift studios and offices at the united nations headquarters in lake success new york where it transmitted its first call sign this is the united nations calling the peoples of the world . 4 un radio was established by a un general assembly resolution on february 13 1946 . resolution 13 i mandating the department of public information to establish un radio states the un can not achieve the purposes for which it was created unless the peoples of the world are fully informed of its aims and activities . transmission edit founding partnerships edit in 1946 the international broadcasting division of the united states department of state began transmitting the entire proceedings of the security council and the united nations economic and social council on shortwave to the rest of the world . news bulletins and feature programmes were broadcast in the un s then five official languages chinese english french russian and spanish for 9 to 12 hours each day . arabic was added in 1974 . lacking its own broadcast facilities un radio initially made arrangements with leading broadcasting organizations to relay its programmes to different regions including the canadian broadcasting corporation s international service 1946 to 1952 the european service of the british broadcasting corporation bbc and voice of america 1953 to 1985 . shortwave broadcasts edit beginning in 1960 un radio started transmitting its own programmes via short wave transmissions . un radio initially leased shortwave transmitters from france switzerland italy and the united states . in 1963 transmission facilities were obtained with considerably greater reach and effectiveness and were able to reach africa europe latin america the middle east and parts of south east asia . shortwave broadcasts were temporarily suspended in 1986 due to the sudden rise of transmission charges . un radio then sent out its programmes on cassette tapes . this delivery grew from 110 000 per year in the late 1980s to 205 000 cassettes per year by 1997 . since then the number of cassettes delivered has decreased dramatically since electronic delivery has become possible in many areas of the world in a much more cost effective way . live program and new formats edit live program edit on the occasion of the un general assembly s millennium summit un radio launched live radio broadcasts in the six official languages and portuguese from un headquarters in new york . the 15 minute daily current affairs broadcasts consisted of news interviews with un officials government representatives diplomats and un ambassadors background reports features updates from peacekeeping missions and coverage of activities of united nations organizations around the world . these live broadcasts were distributed by satellite and telephone feeds and were broadcast by national and regional radio networks in most parts of the world as well as through un radio s website . short wave service was relaunched for the live transmission to reach audiences in the middle east and north africa but was again suspended in 1997 due to the decrease in shortwave audiences in these regions . new format edit in 2001 the un radio portuguese language service under the direction of joao lins de albuquerque 5 and implemented by international affairs news and web producer maya plentz 2 started a pilot to produce the daily un radio website and distribute the news programs digitally via ftp to partner stations reducing distribution costs significantly . former under secretary general for public information sashi tharoor supported un radio efforts to become a digital organisation . at the time un radio studios were falling apart with outdated equipment and expensive and poorly managed distribution systems that still relayed mostly on sending tapes via regular mail to partner stations in africa asia and post conflict zones . web and social media edit un radio currently distributes its content and materials to hundreds of stations around the world via the internet until more recently also by ftp isdn and telephone lines . broadcast quality files can be downloaded from the website . all un radio programs are available via podcasts and rss feeds . un radio is also present on social networking platforms twitter and facebook . call to listen edit in december 2013 un radio programmes were made available via a call to listen platform operated by audionow . users call a local number to listen to the audio feed which also includes live audio from the united nations general assembly 6 and the united nations security council . starting in the united states the service is currently available also in brazil south africa switzerland and ukraine . mobile apps edit in september 2014 un radio s parent office the united nations department of public information released two mobile apps including un audio channels for android and ios also in cooperation with audionow . similar to the call to listen service app users can listen to un radio programmes as well as the live audio feeds from the un general assembly and the security council . un radio s anti apartheid programme section edit in 1977 the un general assembly established an anti apartheid programme section aaps . the goal of the aaps was to counter the broadcasts of the government of south africa and to help bring about the end of apartheid . the aaps implemented this goal by producing radio material for direct broadcast into south africa namibia and other countries in the region . the daily programmes were initiated in march 1978 . originally seven 15 minute scripts in english were translated into the five south african languages zulu afrikaans xhosa sesotho and setswana . many personalities not only from south africa but also around the world including the united states who participated in the international campaign against apartheid were interviewed . the aaps was restructured in 1988 and beginning in 1989 the programme was changed to one south africa . the un general assembly in its resolution 49 38 decided following the establishment of a united non racial and democratic south africa to discontinue united nations information efforts in support of the eradication of apartheid . un radio and peacekeeping operations edit un radio first produced radio and television programmes related to a peacekeeping mission in 1989 led by former united nations high commissioner for human rights the late sergio vieira de mello who was killed on the bombing of the un offices in iraq in august 2003 . in 1992 un radio established its first broadcasting facility on the ground as part of the united nations transitional authority in cambodia untac led by joao lins de albuquerque a swedish brazilian journalist who later was appointed un radio service editor in chief in new york . the main task of radio untac was to clarify its mandate and support the peace and electoral process under way in the country . 7 radio stations are a critical communications component of dpko operations ; there are radio services in the democratic republic of the congo kosovo liberia c te d ivoire burundi sierra leone sudan in khartoum and darfur haiti and timor leste . they both provide information on the ground operations to the international news media and also as act as broadcast partners in post conflict and difficult to reach areas . awards edit in 1997 the child sex trade a four part series exploring the global problems of commercial sexual exploitation of children won the silver medal at new york festivals international radio programming competition . in addition two other un radio programmes female condom and teenage reproductive health and namibia were finalists in the same competition . in 1999 the un radio programme unesco funds documentary on links between calypso and high life music was awarded a bronze medal in the new york festivals international radio programming competition . un radio portuguese language service won awards for its website and its weekly programs africa na onu and un in action featuring ambassador ronaldo sardenberg former science and technology minister of brazil ambassador gelson fonseca jr. un high commissioner for human rights the late sergio vieira de mello ambassador