New Caledonia is a country of 200,000 people 
A little under half the people are Melanesian and the rest are mostly French settlers. It is a French speaking country and governed as a province of France. New Caledonia exports about a third of the world's nickel, and is a wealthy country by Pacific Island standards (although the native Melanesian people are mostly living in very poor circumstances).

In July 2004 we started the process of applying for a licencefor Christian radio in New Caledonia. First we established a "Comit?? des ??glises" (a Committee of Churches) and then in January 2005 we lodged our "Avent Projet" which is a document expressing our interest in holding a Christian radio license. Once the government has this document (from all groups interested in a radio licence) they decide if they will make a radio channel available and accept full applications for that frequency.

I've just received this by email . . .

Décisions 
Appel aux candidatures en Nouvelle-Calédonie : 6 candidats déclarés recevables 
Date de publication sur le site : 12 septembre 2006 
Assemblée plénière du 18 juillet 2006 
Dans le cadre de l'appel aux candidatures lancé le 14 mars 2006 en Nouvelle-Calédonie, les dossiers de six candidats ont été déclarés recevables. Il s'agit des dossiers des radios suivantes : Radio Vie Nouvelle , Zic FM, Radio Océane, Radio Cocotier FM, Nostalgie et Rire et Chansons.

My French isn't very good, but in English . . .

Decisions 
Call to the candidates in New Caledonia: 6 candidates declared admissible 
Goes back to publication on the site: September 12, 2006 
Plenary assembly of July 18, 2006 
Within the framework of the call to the candidates announced on March 14, 2006 to New Caledonia, the files of six candidates were declared admissible. They are the files of the following radios: Radio New Life , Zic FM, Radio operator Oc??ane, Radio operator Coconut FM, Nostalgia and Laughter and Songs.

We are called Radio Vie Nouvelle (Radio New Life) in New Caledonia 

The next step now is for all contenders for the radio channel to lodge their full application so the authorities can decide who will get the license.

French broadcasting is very strictly regulated compared to most countries 

• We must provide a full, hour by hour program schedule in our application for a license, and we cannot change the schedule without first applying to the authorities. So we must say exactly what programs we will broadcast, and at what times of day, for each day of the week.

• And four hours a day must be local programming - which is a good thing, but very hard to commit to now (as we apply), because we don't yet know what local ministry resources are available that will be suitable for Christian radio. (Usually we prefer to start out with a small amount of local programs and increase these as we identify and develop local people with the right skills for radio.)

• As well as this we must set up a video camera to monitor the studio 24 hours a day and give all the tapes to the authorities. There is no problem with doing this, but it shows how strictly the media is monitored by the French authorities.

Please pray 

• For Gerard (our agent in New Caledonia) and I (Graham) as we prepare and submit the full application.

• And pray that our application will be successful so that the 200,000 people of New Caledonia will soon have Christian radio.

May God bless you for your partnership 
Your friend in Jesus

Graham A Carter 
Chief Executive 
UCB Pacific Partners

Questions or comments?  Graham