MUMBAI: The first Caribbean community library radio Infolight FM 108.0: The Power of the Information Literacy through Young Voices, was officially launched by Carl Bethel, Minister of Education of the Bahamas, on 16 October 2008, at the Bahamas Library Service. This project is implemented in partnership with UNESCO.

The event, which took place in the framework of the 9th Meeting of UNESCO's Memory of the World Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (Bahamas, 15-17 October) was attended by the delegates from Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Saint Lucia and the Bahamas, say reports.

This new initiative, which is the first in the Caribbean, will provide a platform for dissemination of information through educational broadcasts to the wider population. It's goal is to promote literacy and research skills from elementary grades to tertiary level and beyond. The first programme is scheduled to be aired on 3 November 2008.

The partnership between the Bahamas Library Service and UNESCO started in 2006 with the launch of the programme Recruiting and Training Library Cadets for a Sustainable Bahamas. It aimed at encouraging young people to pursue professions in library and information science, and at promoting information literacy skills.

In the framework of the current project, the library cadets will receive hands-on training in media services that will enable them to operate the station and to develop innovative programmes on various issues related to culture and literacy. Veteran education broadcaster, Sarah Bethell, is conducting the training programme in cooperation with the staff of the Bahamas Library Service, reports add.