Vatican Radio hosts 'G9' of short wave media as 'missionaries of peace'

Gathered at the historic headquarters of Vatican Radio in the Vatican Gardens, representatives of the nine primary western radio broadcasters meet with Monsignor Lucio Ruiz opening the meeting by recalling the importance of short wave in sending messages of hope and mercy all over the world.

By Michele Raviart

The "G9" group of the primary western radio broadcasters met at the Vatican on Tuesday focusing on a number of issues.

These included the use of short-wave radio in order to render the jamming of international broadcasters less effective through common efforts to coordinate how broadcast frequencies are used and technical cooperation between members.

This marked a key item on the agenda of the meeting which brought together the representatives, including Vatican Radio, in the historic building of the Pope's radio, located in the Vatican Gardens, a place that housed the first radio station built by Guglielmo Marconi.

Reaching the ends of the earth

"You are at home, because the Holy See is everyone's home, because it wants to welcome us in a universal embrace of fraternity to work for the good of humanity."

That is how Monsignor Lucio Adrian Ruiz, Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, opened the meeting.

In a world that is increasingly marked by expanded services in broadband and new technologies, we are "dedicating ourselves to shortwave and the services that are offered through it," Msgr. Ruiz noted.

He added that this effort is "fundamental in order not to forget those people in different parts of the world who have no access to other forms of information and connection than with these technologies. For us, who are essentially missionaries, short wave offers a precious means of outreach since it allows us to reach the ends of the earth with a message of tenderness, mercy, peace and hope."

2023 meeting in Washington

The "G9" group came to be in the early 1960s and includes Vatican Radio, Adventist World Radio, owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church, Encompass, Deutsche Welle and Media Broadcast, the Federal Communications Commission and the United States Agency for Global Media (AGM), and France's Tèlèdiffusion de France and Mglob S.A, which broadcasts from Antananarivo in Madagascar.

Meetings are hosted on a rotating basis by all members. The next gathering will take place in Washington in June 2023 and will be hosted by AGM.

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