Nancy Ajram, Nassif Zeytoun, a variety of traditional arts from Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain and Tunisia, in addition to a show featuring Chinese heritage are the most prominent components of the musical content for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Arab Radio and Television Festival in its twenty-first session to be held on October 19 - 22, 2021, partly virtually and partly in physical presence. The Festival is organized by the Arab States Broadcasting Union in the City of Culture in the Tunisian capital, in cooperation with the Tunisian Radio and Television corporations.
One of the features of this session is that it is associated with two important events in ASBU's activities, namely the holding of the Arab Media Congress (AMC) and the inauguration of the ASBU Hotel, which has just been completed.
ASBU is organizing the first session of the "Arab Media Congress", which brings together the most prominent actors in the media business with all its print, audio, television and electronic components, and to examine the most prominent issues and challenges faced by such media. AMC will discuss several topics according to the following program:
• Audiovisual media and technological challenges: a technical workshop to be held remotely on October 11, 2021,
• Radio and TV production in the Arab region, drama as a model: a workshop discussing content and meeting virtually on October 13, 2021.
• The plenary session, addressing the most prominent issues and challenges facing the Arab media, is to meet in the City of Culture in Tunis on October 19, to study the following themes: challenges of public media, due to the explosion of the number of private channels and new media, the crisis of the written press, and training and rehabilitation of human resources.
The organization of the Festival will also be associated with the inauguration of the ASBU Hotel, a huge achievement whose construction began more than two years ago, and which will help facilitate the achievement of most of the ASBU’s activities by accommodating most of the visitors and participants in those activities, especially that it is located just steps away from the ASBU headquarters.
Since the organization of this edition of the Festival comes at a time when the entire world is suffering from the effects of the Corona pandemic, the Arab States Broadcasting Union has worked to adapt to this difficult situation in an effort to continue its activities while ensuring the safety and security of all participants and attendees at the Festival. Therefore, the Festival will be organized for the first time virtually, i.e. remotely for most of its activities, and in attendance for the two most prominent Festival events, namely the opening evening and the closing show. ASBU , in cooperation with the Ministry of Health in Tunisia, has also prepared a detailed health protocol that will be carefully implemented in all stages of the Festival and in all premices where its activities will be held.
On the other hand, ASBU has unveiled the programs of the two most important events, namely the opening and closing ceremonies. The opening evening will host the well-known Lebanese artist, Nancy Ajram, along with two artistic mini-shows from the Jordanian and the Iraqi heritage. The opening evening will also feature an artistic performance of Chinese heritage, provided by a Chinese orchestra. In addition to the artistic segments, a constellation of the brightest screenstars will be honored in recognition of their extensive contributions in the professional and artistic fields, as guests of honor of the festival.
The evening's show will be broadcast live, as well as the closing night, on Tunisian television and a number of Arab satellite channels.
At the end of the Festival on October 22, will be organized a live artistic concert by the great artist Nassif Zeytoun, along with two artistic mini-shows from the Bahraini and the Tunisian heritage. The closing evening also includes events eagerly awaited by the Festival participants, when the results of the various radio and television program competitions organized by the Festival are announced.
One of the Festival goals is to contribute to the development of Arab radio and television production and raise its level in a way that meets the aspirations of member corporations and the principles for which they work, as well as monitoring and encouraging innovative and serious trends in Arab radio and television production in order to develop Arab creative energies in this field.
The Festival events mainly include the following:
TV competitions, including:
• The main competition, which is dedicated to television programs and news produced by the ASBU's working and participating member corporations.
• As for the parallel competition, it is dedicated to programs and news produced by private Arab television networks, production companies, Arab news agencies, in addition to foreign Arabic-speaking satellite and radio channels.
• TV and Radio Programs Market: Within the Festival's activities, a television and radio market for programs will be held, in which member corporations, private television and radio networks, production companies, Arab news agencies and foreign Arabic-speaking stations participate. An exhibition of modern radio and television equipment is also being held within the market's activities in order to introduce the latest developments and innovations both in the field of technological development. These two events will be organized in person and virtually at the same time, through a digital platform prepared by ASBU for the purpose. www.events.asbu.net
In organizing the virtual part of the festival and the Arab Media Conference, ASBU relies on a platform that enables participants and visitors all over the world to visit the exhibition of technological equipment and the market of radio and television programs, thanks to the 3D technology, and to talk and interact directly with exhibitors, in addition to organizing radio and television program competitions and actively participating in workshops, seminars and remote meetings.
For more details, please visit the Festival website at: www.asbufestival.com