BBC News Kyrgyz marks 25 years

2 June 2021

BBC News Kyrgyz marks 25 years

BBC News Kyrgyz will mark its 25th anniversary with a special, extended edition of its monthly TV programme, BBC Sapar. Recorded at a studio of Kyrgyzstan’s Public Television and Radio Corporation (OTRK), the programme’s anniversary edition is a 90-minute gala event bringing together politicians, journalists – as well as singers, dancers, and actors, who have performed in London. It will be broadcast by OTRK and via the BBC News Kyrgyz website bbc.com/kyrgyz and YouTube channel at 22.15 Bishkek time on Thursday 3 June.

Since its first radio broadcast on 3 June 1996, the BBC’s Kyrgyz service has built a weekly audience of over 3 million people in Kyrgyzstan, now also delivering its trusted content via its website, social-media platforms and TV. Looking ahead, the service is considering moving some of its vast and timeless archive radio programming – including Books by Radio – to the podcast platform.

Congratulating the BBC News Kyrgyz team for 25 years of public-service broadcasting, BBC Director-General, Tim Davie, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement and is the result of years of dedication, creativity and innovation. BBC Kyrgyz goes to the heart of what the World Service is all about – bringing the world to Kyrgyzstan and Kyrgyzstan to the world through accurate, impartial and engaging content.”

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the Kyrgyz President Sadir Japarov said that he has been a longstanding BBC listener and follows the international news on the BBC Kyrgyz TV bulletin. “While I was in jail and lost my loved ones, the BBC was the only media outlet that wasn’t afraid of approaching my family and asking about my wellbeing,” he said.

Over the past 25 years, the BBC’s collaboration with Kyrgyzstan’s Public Television and Radio Corporation (OTRK) has strengthened, proving its resilience throughout the often turbulent times. Today, OTRK broadcasts the BBC News Kyrgyz radio news and current-affairs programming on FM frequencies, while the BBC’s 15-minute Monday to Friday evening TV news bulletins and the monthly documentary programme, BBC Sapar, are part of OTRK’s TV schedule.

BBC News Kyrgyz is part of BBC World Service.

[Source: BBC Press Release]

NHK World programme highlights June

31 May 2021

NHK World programme highlights June

This episode showcases Japan’s long history of food preservation and the ingenious methods that have been developed over the centuries. Whether by employing salt, the open air, or a natural fermentation process, careful preservation has allowed for the enjoyment of seasonal delicacies all year round. Dive for hijiki seaweed, try your hand at creating kamaboko, and feast your eyes on many other household favorites like umeboshi.

Being surrounded by ocean on all sides, Japan has long relied on the ocean for sustenance. Numerous fishing and cultivation methods have been developed over the centuries to ensure the sustainability of such resources. From top quality fish raised on olive leaves and orange peels, to cultivated seaweed and shellfish, learn about several robust methods with our reporters in this special instalment of “Trails to Oishii Tokyo,” focusing on Japan’s fisheries.

Episode 5
Climate change is a looming crisis. One way to reach net-zero carbon output is to reduce the use of coal. In developed countries such as Japan technology can help reduce emissions, but a documentary from our partner station KCET shows that cutting back on coal is not so clear cut for countries like South Africa, where coal mining is still important. How can developed and emerging countries work together to move away from coal? We will mine for methods of ensuring a carbon-neutral future.

Episode 6

The impact of climate change on the world’s seas is increasingly severe. The incidence of extremely high ocean temperatures known as marine heatwaves is likely to increase. Oceans play a vital role in mitigating climate change, taking in heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But this intake has warmed the ocean and made seawater more acidic, putting undersea life at risk. With our US partner station KCET, we zero in on the health of our seas and look at efforts to protect marine life.

Asia Insight

Fridays

0:30 / 5:30 / 10:30 / 15:30 / 21:30

Dynamic Asia. Stories behind the world’s largest continent as it faces political, economic, cultural and technological change.

Japanology Plus

Thursdays

2:30 / 7:30 / 13:30 / 19:30

Fresh insights into Japan. Stories behind Japanese life and culture through the eyes of Peter Barakan, a 45-year resident and watcher of Japan.

[Source: NHK World press release]

ABC Australia celebrates NAIDOC week

31 May 2021

ABC Australia celebrates NAIDOC week

ABC Australia celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week which runs from 4 – 11 July is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

In My Blood It Runs

This heart-warming observational documentary is about history, learning, love and resistance. Told through the eyes of charismatic 10-year-old Arrernte/Garrwa boy Dujuan and his family, the film charts the challenges Dujuan faces both in his school and on the streets of Alice Springs.

In his community Dujuan is recognised as a child-healer and a hunter. He speaks three languages, yet despite his depth of wisdom and intelligence, Dujuan is failing in school and facing increasing scrutiny from welfare and the police. As he travels perilously close to incarceration, his family fight to give him a strong Arrente education alongside his western education. We walk with him as he grapples with these pressures, shares his truths and somewhere in-between finds space to dream, imagine and hope for his future.

In My Blood It Runs reveals the complexities First Nations communities face negotiating colonisation whilst maintaining their cultural identities and practices through self-determination, the revitalisation of languages and connection to Country. It is a deeply moving insight into a side of Australia rarely depicted on screen.

4 July at 16:00 SIN / 18:00 PNG

Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky

Presenter, co-writer and slam poet Steven Oliver takes the audience on an incredible and scenic journey across Australia from the cliffs of Kurnell to the Torres Strait. As he travels the land interrogating Cook’s legacy, he poses the question, does Australia have a blurred history of Captain Cook?

11 July at 17:30 SIN / 19:30 PNG

Maralinga Tjarutja

WHEN THE DUST SETTLES, CULTURE REMAINS

Surviving aggressive colonisation, including dispossession to enable atomic testing, and through their tenacious spirit and cultural strength, the Maralinga people fight to retain their country.

These lands have been home to the Maralinga people for over sixty thousand years. This deep relationship with their country was challenged by the arrival of a colonising force that lead to the institutionalisation of the Maralinga people in the Ooldea Mission in the 1920s.

This attempt to dispossess was intensified as Maralinga land was used for the British Nuclear Test Program between 1953 and 1963. The Maralinga people never relinquished their connection to and responsibility for their country. They fought for the clean-up of the radioactive and other contamination, for compensation and for the handback in 2009 of the Maralinga Village and Test Sites.

What has been achieved is a rebuilding of traditional communities into vibrant, creative cultural communities that will ensure Maralinga custodianship of their lands for the next sixty thousand years.

11 July at 18:30 SIN / 20:30 PNG

ABC appoints new Head International Services

17 May 2021

ABC appoints new Head International Services

The ABC has appointed respected media executive Claire Gorman as Head International Services, an expanded role that reflects the ABC’s commitment to communities in the Indo-Pacific region.
Claire has been acting in the role of Head International Strategy since November, and in this new expanded role of Head International Services will manage both the International Strategy team and the International Development team.

Claire’s impressive career at the ABC over almost two decades has included Policy Advisor for ABC Radio, Senior Investigator at A&CA, Policy and Strategy Manager in Commercial, Editorial Policies Advisor, and Manager International Strategy.

ABC Director of Strategy Mark Tapley said Claire will bring many years of experience both inside and outside the ABC to the role.
“Bringing together the two internationally-focussed teams in the ABC – International Development and International Strategy – demonstrates the ABC’s full commitment to audiences and the media sector in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

“Given her experience in Canberra in development assistance and researching human rights, and her work across PNG, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia, Claire is an excellent candidate for this role.”

“The new Head International Services, with the support of the Corporation, will be focussed on continuing to strengthen our portfolio of international channels, to enhance our digital offering, and to engage with the media sectors across the Indo-Pacific region, and indeed globally.”

Claire will officially start as Head International Services on Monday 24 May.

[Source: ABC press release]

NHK WORLD programme highlights May

30 April 2021

NHK WORLD programme highlights May

Until the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, Sato Shinichi made a living at his photo studio in Minamisanriku. When the disaster struck, he evacuated to high ground, carrying an SLR camera. That camera allowed him to document the horror as the tsunami swallowed the town and destroyed lives. Since then, Sato has taken more than 300,000 photos, showing despair, regret, turmoil, and resolve for recovery. Now, he’s focusing on hope for a better future.

Nakamura Tetsu, who devoted his life to assist Afghanistan, was shot to death in December 2019. As a medical doctor, he treated individual patients and built clinics to provide ongoing care to larger numbers of people. He later embarked on projects to enhance irrigation in the dry, war-ridden country. At his side, there were one hundred or so young Japanese who assisted the doctor’s efforts. Some came after suffering setbacks in Japan. Others arrived with a vision of making a difference in the world. In this program, they reflect on how their time with him changed their lives.

Trails to Oishii Tokyo

Wednesdays

14:30 / 20:30 / 3:30 / 9:30

Delicious food from Tokyo’s markets! Learn about the amazing ingredients which are sourced from across Japan and sold at Tokyo’s fresh food markets.

Cycle around Japan

Saturdays

2:10 / 9:10 / 17:10 / 21:10

Come ride with us! Bicycle through the scenery of Japan, stay with locals and discover hidden traditions in a Japan you didn’t know existed.

[Source: NHK WORLD press release]