By Noimot Olayiwola
A NEW Arabic satellite channel ‘Baraem.tv’ for pre-school children aged three to six comes on air today, it was announced yesterday.
The channel, housed within the Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC) at Qatar Foundation, will run programmes daily from 6am to 2pm.
The free-to-view broadcast is the first pan-Arab pre-school satellite channel using Arabic as the only language of broadcast and reaching all Arab countries and Europe through Arabsat, Nilesat and Hotbird.
It is being run under the partonage of Qatar Foundation chairperson HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad.
Programmes on the channel will include interactive, educational and informative show, character show, comic and automated animations, adventures, musicals and animal stories.
Baraem also goes on air with an interactive website - baraem.tv - providing mothers and nurseries with novelty ideas, cognitive children’s games, educational tools and activities sufficient to prepare pre-schoolers for school with appropriate knowledge of Arabic writing and language.
JCC general manager Mahmoud Bouneb said the objective of the channel is to entertain and educate children through activities they engage in on a day-to-day basis as well as inculcate Arabic language in them at a tender age.
“We are featuring programmes that portray natural relationship within the family, between parents, especially mothers and their children and the natural environment. We also want to emphasise the importance of the Arabic language as a means of communication,” he explained.
Bouneb said that 15% of programme content are being produced in-house while 85% were carefully selected from international production houses matching the channel’s editorial policy and broadcast guidelines.
“Baraem comes as a historical development and unprecedented contribution to the television history of the Arab World and it stems from the full vision of HH Sheikha Mozah,” he said, while noting that the channel marked Sheikha Mozah’s clear commitment to achieve a conscientious media environment for the Arab youth.
He said the new channel was considered necessary as no audience was available to view JCC during the morning hours when children are in school.
“After three years’ experience with JCC, we decided to give the channel a face-lift by introducing another channel that will occupy this slot and for another group of children,” he said.
JCC is an edutainment channel for audience between 7 – 15 years old in order to encourage them to love learning and discovery.
“The launch of Baraem channel has effectively led JCC to re-address its age group. As a result, its morning slot will now be for Baraem viewers,” Bouneb hinted.
Meanwhile, the veteran broadcaster with more than 25 years’ experience, voiced concern over the dearth of children’s programmes with Arabic contents.
“It is a sad thing to note that there are not enough Arabic programmes for the children in this region because people still have very conventional approach to television,” he said.
However, he acknowledged the fact that presenting for children is one of the most difficult tasks in television production.
Bouneb also urged parents to find time to sit with their children whenever they watch the television to serve as their guide in understanding the content of the programme being aired.
He condemned the airing of any kind of commercials on television channels meant for young ones, saying it was against the international provisions for establishing children’s channel. |
