"This chapter examines the role played by community radio in social change through the lens of participatory communication and locates it within the context of the globalization of media. At present, even though there are multiple media outlets, much of the grammar of creating content feeds into the production values of a globalized marketplace and to an oligopolistic control of media by big multinational companies, resulting in a democracy deficit. In this chapter we argue, through a conceptual and empirical survey of community radio in many countries, that to build a robust civil society that can effectively negotiate with those in power for inclusive development and sustainable social change, it is necessary to create decentralised and democratic discursive spaces that promote freedom of expression and equitable access to media. Community radio is one such institutional space that has been effectively used by historically marginalised groups to make their voices heard." (Abstract)