During 2008 and 2009, Nepal’s independent broadcasting sector, especially the FM radio movement, was booming. The community radio campaign was reaching even the most remote parts of the country—areas that had been voiceless for decades. Both private sector entities and community-based organizations were actively establishing radio stations as a means of fostering prosperity and development, recognizing broadcasting as a fundamental human right guaranteed by the constitution.

However, despite the growing number of radio stations and broadcasters, there were no self-regulatory plans or guidelines in place to ensure an authentic and responsible broadcasting sector. This lack of regulation was seen as a significant gap, which Binaya Guragain and his team at Equal Access Nepal identified. They recognized the urgent need for collective ethical guidelines to promote reliable and responsible broadcasting.

After months of dedicated effort, Equal Access Nepal, in collaboration with individual broadcasters and other like-minded organizations, successfully launched the historic Code of Conduct and Broadcasters’ Guidelines in 2009. The initiative was supported by over 200 operational radio stations across Nepal. Binaya Guragain played a key role as a major proponent and advocate for the initiative, serving as the project manager at Equal Access.

The Code of Conduct developed during this initiative remains a crucial ethical guideline for both new and existing broadcasters and continues to be welcomed in university classrooms.

‘Prior to my work with Equal Access Nepal, I had successfully established and run a community radio station called ‘Solu FM’ in Solukhumbu, Nepal—a remote district where Mount Everest lies,’ Binaya recalled. ‘I also helped establish other local FM stations in Itahari, Kanchanpur, Siraha, and several other places. It was during this time that I realized the urgent need for developing strong ethical guidelines collectively.’

When I joined Equal Access in 2006, we were able to design the project, secure funding, and launch the Broadcasters’ Code of Conduct. I feel so proud and happy that today, you can see that code of conduct hanging in every radio station in Nepal. Even the Federation of Nepali Journalists has adopted it as a major reference for journalism education and training.

Binaya’s entry into journalism was accidental. After completing school, he moved to Kathmandu with his brother and, in 1998, started working with a group of journalists, assisting them with cleaningo office and cooking food and snaks for them. These journalists were involved in producing a daily radio magazine for Radio Nepal. Through his work assisting with cleaning, cooking, and administrative tasks, he gradually developed an interest in reporting.

His first reported story about ‘Madal (Hand Drum) production in Kathmandu’ was broadcast on Khoj Khabar, a popular radio program on Radio Nepal, and received positive feedback from both senior journalists and listeners. This became a turning point in his journey as a broadcaster. He began traveling to different parts of Nepal to collect voices for the program. Meanwhile, he also started writing features for weekly and monthly newspapers, eventually becoming a full-time journalist.

In 1999, UNICEF launched a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) study on sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, targeting adolescents and teenagers. Binaya participated in the research phase, interacting with over 200 adolescents. Based on the study’s findings, UNICEF Nepal, in collaboration with Radio Nepal, produced the historic radio chat show Chatting with My Best Friend – Sathi Sanga Manka Kura (SSMK). The program became one of Nepal’s most popular radio shows, gaining national and international recognition and running for nearly 20 years. It provided life skills education to adolescents and teenagers, making a lasting impact.Binaya takes pride in being associated with this initiative as a founding producer of SSMK, which played a significant role in transforming youth and adolescent lives providing them life skills education.

‘After launching SSMK as part of a team of creative producers, I decided to take my career to the next level. I moved to Itahari to start the radio station Saptakoshi FM. I designed programs, trained young people to become radio jockeys and producers, and served as the program director in 2001. I also started producing a folk music-based program, which became so popular that other radio stations in eastern Nepal followed the trend set by Saptakoshi FM,’ Binaya recalled, reminiscing about the popularity of the station and its programs during that time.

As Saptakoshi FM gained popularity and was successfully run by local youth and producers, Binaya was approached by a Danish organization that planned to operate a project in Solukhumbu district and wanted to support the establishment of a community radio station there. Between 2003 and 2004, Binaya successfully launched and operated a community radio station in Solu, built a local team to run it independently, and later moved back to Kathmandu in late 2005.

During this time, the Maoist insurgency had escalated, making the situation in Solu extremely challenging. Binaya witnessed firsthand the hardships caused by both the Maoists and the government, which created a difficult working environment. However, he remained committed to ethical and responsible broadcasting, ensuring that the station continued to operate without harm.

Within a month of its establishment, Solu FM became one of the most popular radio stations in the region, thanks to its strong community-focused content under Binaya’s leadership.

Nepal witnessed the introductory phase of social media and blogging in 2011. In collaboration with his international colleagues, Binaya established a collective blogging platform called www.meroreport.net in 2011. Although the operational structure of Meroreport changed over time and is now suspended, it set a trend for collective blogging in Nepal. Its “Blogger of the Week” section remained highly popular, and the platform played a significant role in driving social change on various issues. Meroreport was recognized by the Digital Empowerment Foundation India in 2014, receiving the Social Media for Empowerment Award.

From 2006 to 2017, Binaya worked as Producer to Program Director at Digital Broadcast Initiative, Equal Access Nepal, where he produced numerous radio programs supporting Nepal’s prolonged peacebuilding, constitution development, and political transformation process. He received a presitigious fellowshiop from Sit Graduate Institute ‘CONTACT Prorgram’ in 2009 where he studied peacebuilding and conflictd transformation across globe. Alongside media educators and trainers, he designed Conflict-Sensitive Reporting Training and Safety and Security in Reporting Training, benefiting thousands of working Nepali journalists.

Recognizing his contributions to media education and training, the Netherlands government awarded him a prestigious fellowship in 2013 to study and become a certified trainer from Radio Netherland Training Center (RNTC). Previously, he has conducted training sessions for radio producers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2010 to develop radio programs focused on youth and employability. Additionally, he collaborated with his international team at Equal Access International to design and implement social and behavior change communication projects through radio and the internet in several Asian and African countries.

In September 2017, Binaya became the Executive Director of Antenna Foundation Nepal, where he served until April 2023. During his tenure, he launched Nepal Radio Lab in February 2020—a first ever online learning platform offering self-paced short and long courses on journalism and broadcasting. “The lab was my brainchild, and I enjoyed creating it. It helped radio producers enhance their skills and knowledge, but unfortunately, it could not be sustained due to a lack of operational funding,” Binaya shared. Despite financial constraints, he still hopes to revive the platform as a powerful e-learning tool.
The lab proved highly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing the shift in radio listenership habits due to internet penetration and evolving learning patterns. “I created the platform to meet the changing learning needs in the digital age, but I couldn’t secure adequate funding to operate it independently,” he explained.

Another key achievement during his time at Antenna Foundation Nepal was producing the Environment/Climate Glossary, published in 2023, which received positive feedback from its target audience.

Beyond his professional work, Binaya has been recognized socially and was elected President of Sunrise Tower’s Welfare Society in 2022. Additionally, he co-founded Media Four G Nepal in 2020, an organization dedicated to advancing both traditional and digital media in Nepal. He is elected central committee and secretariat member of Broadcasting Association of Nepal (BAN) and general member of Federation of Nepali journliast (FNJ). Excpet training to journalists he is the lecturerer of Mass Communication and Journalism in Trivuwan and Purabanchal University of Nepal.