The Standing Committee for Radio of the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) held its 37th meeting in Tunis on Thursday, with member organizations including Kuwait Radio participating to discuss joint Arab radio activities and the union’s programs and projects for the coming year.
ASBU Director General Abdul Rahim Suleiman opened the session by highlighting the committee’s role as a driving force behind many of the union’s development and modernization initiatives.
The committee reviewed preparations for upcoming festivals, competitions and the annual radio workshop, and approved themes for the main and parallel competitions of the 27th Arab Radio and Television Festival.
For the main competition, documentary programs will focus on “Threatened Arab Heritage,” environmental programs on “The Blue Economy,” youth programs on “Future Skills,” and social dramas on “The Generation Gap in the Digital Age.” Scientific programs will address “Innovation Incubators,” variety programs will highlight “Stars That Haven’t Yet Reached the Sky,” and news programs will focus on “Post-News Analysis.”
Parallel competition themes include “Digital Safety for Children” for digital programs, “Reading in the Digital Age” for cultural programs, “Undiscovered Tourist Destinations” for tourism programs, “Combating Misinformation” for awareness segments, and “Morning Entertainment Programs” for entertainment.
The committee also reviewed preparations for the inaugural Arab Song Festival, set to take place in Tunisia on Jan. 12–13 under the theme “Identity and Heritage.” The submission deadline was extended to Nov. 15, while “Voices of Happiness” was selected as the theme for the second edition.
The meeting discussed the Arab Audiobook Collection initiative, involving seven radio stations from Jordan, Yemen, Tunisia, Syria, Palestine, Qatar and Egypt. Under the proposed first phase, each station will produce five audiobooks, creating an initial collection of 35 titles. Five-member teams from each station will receive training comprising three voice actors, a director and a language editor.
On joint productions, the committee approved broadcasting the third part of the “Arab Musicians” series during the upcoming January session. It also discussed a proposed radio series with the Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils introducing Arab scientists and researchers and highlighting their contributions.
TunisianMonitorNews
