The Radio Platform for Citizens Participation (RPCP) project seeks to transform community radios within mining and agricultural areas into platforms that enhance participation of the rural and marginalized communities in the management and governance of natural resources.

The project affords community members, especially women, in selected SADC member states a chance to participate in the affairs of their communities by debating regional policies and protocols on mining and natural resource management as they relate to their issues of local concern and interest.

The RPCP project uses community discussion groups or Radio Listening Clubs (RLCs) as platforms where the rural communities engage in dialogue and debate on the management and governance of the region’s natural resources and how it can be improved for their own benefit. The RPCP project focuses on the impact of natural resources extraction on local communities and the role which community radio stations can play in fostering accountability in that aspect.

The project uses the principles outlined in the SADC Protocol on Mining ratified by 12 SADC countries in 1997, and the Resource Barometer developed by the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) in 2013, the project will raise awareness among local communities who face the brunt of the negative effects of extractive activities in their areas and empower them to demand accountability and compensation from both their governments and the extractive industries to ensure that they directly benefit from resource extraction.