Radyo Sesel celebrates 50-year milestone today |20 July 2015

Exactly 50 years ago on this date – July 20 – Radyo Sesel, our only radio station then, started broadcasting at Union Vale where it is still operating despite the fact that the majority of its producers and presenters have moved to the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation’s headquarters at Hermitage.

This will be the case until before the end of the year when all operations will be conducted from Hermitage.

The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) will soon be building a new Broadcast House which will house both radio and television under one roof with modern facilities. The building will be on the other side of the road where the actual radio station is at Union Vale.

“It is a very big event and an important milestone in the existence of this indispensable and popular medium of communication and entertainment,” SBC managing director Antoine Onezime said.

Mr Onezime took over the management of both the radio and television stations from Ibrahim Afif in October 2009.

He added that Radyo Sesel has always been very relevant in the lives of the majority of our people and 50 years later it is still very relevant in spite of the introduction over the years of other medium of communication, information and entertainment.

“Radyo Sesel has tried its best to keep up with evolution and modernisation in technology and our aim is to give a new dimension to its relevance by doing things Senpleman Sesel but at the same time ensuring standards are not compromised,” Mr Onezime stressed.

He added that in the context of its strategic plan, the SBC, in collaboration with its partners, is working to ensure that all Seychellois can have access to Radyo Sesel wherever they may be.

From its very humble beginnings Radyo Sesel has over the years known a long list of presenters, announcers, producers, news readers and entertainers and among them are some household names whose popular voices still evoke pleasant memories to date. Some of these well-known and much appreciated radio personalities are long dead like Gibert Confait, Antonio Beaudoin, Douglas Cedras and Marjorie Baker. Others like Marie-Cecile Medor, Estelle Rassool, Jourdanne Bibi have moved abroad while there are those like Loveth Legaie, Michel Marie, Raymonde Lavigne, Davidson Barra, Jean Toussaint, Larrey Chetty, Patricia Raoul, Judith Emmanuel, Josie Michaud-Payet and Marie-Therese Bibi who have changed their field of work.

Pat Mathiot, on the other hand, is now working with SBC TV as head of learning, and there are also others who had ventured in other fields of work after spending many years with Radyo Sesel but have recently returned. Those are Thelma Pool, Marie-Claude D’Unienville and Jules Hoareau.  Personalities like Emmy Etienne, who for a long time worked on a part-time basis with Radyo Sesel, have retired.

All the transition that has taken place over the years has involved a lot of capable people who have ensured that the Seychellois audience gets a timely and reliable radio service.

Jeannette Julienne, Christianne Denise and Simon Derjacques are among the few remaining longest serving staff who have witnessed the evolution that has been taking place at Radyo Sesel from after independence until today and are proud to share some of their experiences and talk about their work at Radyo Sesel from 1978 until today.    

Jeannette Julienne, head of radio production

Jeannette Julienne head of radio production started as a trainee journalist in January 1978, and 37 years later she is still working with the national radio station.

“I have always enjoyed my work with Radyo Sesel and I still do and this is why I am still here,” Mrs Julienne said.

For Mrs Julienne, when she started in 1978 at the Press Communique Service Section of the then Department of Information which comprised the Radyo Sesel and the Seychelles NATION newspaper, it involved working for both at the same time but it was something she enjoyed. Unfortunately a year later for family reasons she asked for a transfer to the documentation centre.

“I was no longer a journalist but I was helping the journalists and producers with their research work. This I did for around six years,” Mrs Julienne recalled before she moved again and this time to the radio programming and scheduling section.

“There my work consisted of looking for sources of foreign programmes through sponsors and suppliers abroad, verifying the contents of the programmes once received before they were aired locally,” she remembered.

Mrs Julienne said during those times all correspondence was through letters and these also included answering all requests for information on Seychelles which came through the radio station.

“Everything was done manually, there was no internet and no computers and very few press releases were issued during those days and every day we had to phone the ministries and departments to look for news contrary to today where organisations and ministries often request for news coverage,” Mrs Julienne adds.

Mrs Julienne is of the view that today news gathering has evolved enormously and is much easier especially with the advent of the internet through which news items can be received through emails and the social media like Facebook which can tip off journalists and prompt them to do further investigations.

“I believe these new medium of communication are greatly helping journalists,” Mrs Julienne said.

“Radyo Sesel has come a long way and great improvements have been made in terms of equipment used and technology introduced and gone are the days when radio journalists had to carry heavy equipment, a huge inconvenience especially when conducting interviews in remote areas,” Mrs Julienne recalled.

Editing also was a tedious process Mrs Julienne remembered – with all the spools, splicing tapes, the cutting and piecing together of endless lengths of recording tapes which is no longer the case with the advent of new technology.

Christianne Denise, the administrative assistant

Christianne Denise who started as a cleaner but is now the administrative assistant is the person who for the past 38 years has been ensuring the smooth running of transport for radio staff. She ensures the staff of Radyo Sesel gets to Union Vale on time to start early morning transmissions, reach assignment venues on time as well as arrive home safely after radio transmission ends each evening. She also had the responsibility of the switchboard, security, sales office as well as the delivery of Seychelles NATION newspaper then.

Mrs Denise believes that her organisational skills, passion for her job and desire to learn and do better all the time has prompted her to improve, maintain her love for what she does but today since Seychelles NATION newspaper is no longer under the same management as Radyo Sesel and television has moved to Hermitage Mrs Denise workload has lightened considerably.

“I am grateful to all those who helped and guided me then,” Mrs Denise said.

Mrs Denise added that her job at Radyo Sesel is fun and the evolution she has witnessed is good and is proof that even though we are a very small station we have not been left behind.

“Looking back I have witnessed a lot of development which I am proud to have been part of. All the  technology now plays a large part in making work  easier and faster  and I am happy that now everything can be entered in a computer but for me I still prefer my pen and paper which I am so used to,” Mrs Denise admitted, especially now that she is nearing her retirement.

Technician Simon Derjacques

To ensure the right mix of sounds and music as well as all the different programmes reach the audience without unnecessary interruptions, skilled and experienced technicians are required and Simon Derjacques is one of them.

He has been with Radyo Sesel since 1979. When he joined Radyo Sesel Mr Derjacques brought with him some experience acquired during the three-and-a-half years spent with the then Far East Broadcasting Association (FEBA) radio station.

“It was a matter of adapting from the one-man run system at FEBA to all the cassettes and audio tapes at Radyo Sesel,” said Mr Derjacques. He added that his love for music also prompted him to take a job at Radyo Sesel.

“My greatest passion was when different musicians and groups came to record their music. I always wanted to produce the best mix of music for them and these included recording for theatrical musical pieces like Castor. These were great moments for me,” Mr Derjacques recalled.

At that time Mr Derjacques worked alongside other well-known technicians like Claude Dorasamy, Henry Low-Hong and Jean-Claude Matombé.

Having witnessed all the different stages of evolution of Radyo Sesel, Mr Derjacques believes these have been good and much welcomed as they have relieved and lightened the burden of their work.

“With technology we no longer have to cue for a song from a record, cassette etc… we are done with fast forwarding and rewinding,” Mr Derjacques noted.

He said he welcomes all forms of technology which he says not only lighten the work and make it easier and faster but also improves the quality of work produced.

“Radyo Sesel has continuously updated its facilities and the equipment it has today is tangible proof of the success and today a lot of young people are interested in working with Radyo Sesel compared to several years back,” Mr Derjacques remarked, adding that he still enjoys his work with Radyo Sesel as he is always learning new things .

Since last year, Mr Derjacques has been given the task of transferring all audio programmes produced by Radyo Sesel to digital version to be stored in computer files.

He has to listen to all the old programmes before transferring them on computer and his greatest joy is to relive these old programmes and hear those famous voices.

In fact since last week Radyo Sesel has been airing as part of activities to mark this 50-year milestone some of these old programmes.

This week starting today apart from airing these programmes Radyo Sesel will have in its studio some of the former presenters to co-present on Seychelles Matin, Afternoon Delight, Lanbyans Tropikal and Sware avek Radyo Sesel. So do not miss this great opportunity to hear your favourite presenters once again.

Radyo Sesel will close transmission at midnight today.

Happy anniversary Radyo Sesel!