• The Project was commenced by staff and students of Goldsmiths College in 1984 at a time when they were eager to expand the existing campus radio outside the boundaries of the college.
  
• Such was the interest from the local community that Lewisham Adult Education funded classes to be run for unemployed people and both day-time and evening classes were set up.
  
• In 1992 DCR linked up with a music radio group to broadcast a 28 day special events licence to the borough of Lewisham. As part of DCR's programming, there was drama, local news and information, whats-on and magazine and live debates. The feedback to this programming from the local community was tremendous and led to another three trial broadcasts in '93, '95 and 1996.
  
• Following this, many local people further polished their skills in educational tapes and CDs produced for the local education authority and the Commission for Racial Equality, marking European Year Against Racism.

Current work of Deptford Community Radio Project

This project provides training and the local community the opportunity to develop its own voice. The current project entitled Stepping Back To Look Forward is tracing different communities' histories in relation to the London Borough of Lewisham and Greenwich. This is being developed as an educational tool for schools, supplementary schools and youth clubs. The material gathered will serve to encourage young people to further research their family histories, such as that told by Muriel Simpson about her father, Kamal Chunchie. You can see and hear this for yourself in the South Asian Distant History Section.

Kamal A. Chunchie's party of friends, including marked with the cross, Hon William Van Lare,
first black Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana

Other projects in the pipeline include setting up a community web site for the residents, community organisations and businesses of the New Cross Gate area, where the Government's latest regeneration scheme, called New Deal for the Communities is being piloted, along with about 20 nationally.

This is dedicated regeneration funding to tackle the issues of crime, worklessness, health, education, training, environment and transport.

Credit to those who have contributed to the current material:

Martin Meredith, Equalities Unit, London Borough of Lewisham Education Directorate.

Francis Ward and Julian Watson, London Borough of Greenwich Local History Library.

The Museum of London for use of text extracts from their publication, The Peopling of London.

Rozina Visram for use of Kamal A. Chunchie of the Coloured Men's Institute: The Man and the Legend.

Muriel Simpson, daughter of Kamal A. Chunchie.

Without those individuals and organisations, much of this material would not be in place. There is the potential for much more to be gathered and this project is meant to serve as the stepping stone to further research, especially family research to be carried out. Every community has contibuted to the life and infrasturcture of London.

To contact Deptford Community Radio Project, with comments and suggestions, please e-mail: 170@deptfordnet.org.uk