Flashback to June 2020; looking at the financial forecasts there was nothing to be hopeful about: the accounts were in the red and the whole radio would have gone bankrupt within a year. That was when our battles began, in political forums, on the streets and above all on the air, to demand that independent information should be defended and recognised.

Remember?  It was just over a year ago that we decided to make our financial crisis public. It was a painful coming out, which laid bare all the fragilities of our situation. Yet, it has been worth it! We received immeasurable support from our listeners. A support for our cause that was eventually acknowledged even by the Ministry of Media.

One year on, many things have changed – the ‘crisis’ we found ourselves in, and which was made worse by the covid pandemic, has receded. The donations received during the past year (about 40,000€) and the new agreement with the Ministry of Media, which gives us stability for the next five years, has fixed the budgets of the associations and allowed the radio to pay our journalists and activate educational and integration projects that had been put on standby.

All sorted out now? Not really – ARA has always been an independent, open and participatory media – unique characteristics that define a very particular social status. To date, this “community radio” status has not yet been defined in Luxembourg law (which exists in other EU and non-EU countries (DE, BE, FR, UK, IT etc). This is why our agreement with the government is vital, but something more is needed. Our agreement is temporary and when it expires, we will have to negotiate again with the future government. A law for community media would protect not only ARA, but all local media that have been work similar to us on a local level for years and are committed to independent information. We will continue to push for this recognition.

Since its foundation, Radio ARA has been financed to a large extent by the contribution of its listeners, the agreement with the government is such that we must continue to show that we are a community financed project.. This is not only a method of funding, but above all an endorsement of a unique information project in Luxembourg, which guarantees genuine independence. Supporting one of our projects means contributing to the realisation of our objectives:

You can join our project and be part of our community through a monthly contribution via bank transfer, Paypal, Stripe or Digicash, choosing the amount you want. You can also choose to contribute with a single donation – every action makes a difference!