THE Farnham Maltings used the occasion of World Radio Day to announce the launch of its own radio project – and it wants the community to get involved.

Maltings Sound Vault will take to the air in the next year, and will seek to create a “radio space for all”, where volunteers can flex their creative muscles, the community can tell their stories, and everyone can get a platform for their artistic talents.

The project will utilise the possibilities offered by podcasting technology to give a wider range of people the chance to make programmes, and share them with a bigger audience.

The project is being spearheaded by a former head of PR for BBC Radio 1, Paul Simpson.

Gavin Stride, director at the Farnham Maltings, said: “World Radio Day was established by the United Nations to celebrate radio as a medium, and to encourage us all to use it to promote freedom of expression.

“Radio is the mass media reaching the widest audience in the world, and is a powerful storytelling tool. It is only right that the Farnham Maltings use World Radio Day to reveal our exciting plans.”

Initial programming plans centre around four themes:

• Voice: personal story-telling; oral history; and voices from the street;

• Audio collage: sound creations, where music meets speech;

• Specialist music: exploring music genres missing a platform elsewhere;

• Maltings + : an audio dimension to the Farnham Maltings’ own programme.

The online radio platform will be accompanied by a website, and social media dedicated to celebrating listening more generally around the world.

Maltings Sound Vault is now putting out a call for volunteers who are interested in getting involved in the project – whether in the shape of production, technology, digital, legal, music or oral history/digital heritage expertise.

People interested in becoming involved with the project can find out more details at Farnham Maltings’ refreshers, festival of retirement on Monday, February 27, where the project leader, Paul Simpson, will be running a stand.

Once a volunteer team has been recruited, the plan is to reach out to source programme content from the community, using a studio at the Farnham Maltings, portable digital recording equipment, and ‘pop-up’ recording booths.

The project, while centred on the Farnham Maltings, and surrounding communities on the Surrey/Hampshire border, will ensure that its horizons are global as well as local.

Updates about its development will follow in the coming months. It is expected to launch in time for World Radio Day 2018.