She makes space for difficult conversations in the South Asian community
Age: 34
Job Title: Founder and CEO of the Universal Radio Network Inc
Thanks to the encouragement of her dad, Sapreet Buttar has known her way around radio since the age of 12. He was one of the first South Asian journalists in Alberta and, at that time, only had 30 minutes of airtime each week. He would often bring his daughter on to respectfully debate him. “Even now, sometimes when I’m doing a very high-profile interview,” she explains, “he will be the phone call I make right before, as in, ‘Just need your reassurance that I got this.’”
From there, Buttar started to receive dozens of opportunities to host cultural events and interview members of the South Asian community. She founded The Universal Radio Network (TURN), which offers English programming for second-generation South Asian Canadians and initiates difficult conversations on topics, such as mental health, that are still sensitive in those communities. TURN’s broadcasts are available online and across the world, but they have a healthy presence in the cultural communities in Edmonton. Buttar says being the only South Asian media outlet at this year’s Juno Awards “was a huge moment for me to see how much as a community we’ve grown.”
She says, “I want to see more, not just South Asian, but more people of colour in those environments. I want to see Edmonton more diverse, whether it’s in comedy, whether it’s in music — whatever it is.”
This article appears in the Nov/Dec 2023 issue of Edify
