3 September 2019
The ancient “Katta Langar” Qur’an, named after the Uzbek village – its centuries-long home – is the subject of a 40-minute documentary now live on the website bbc.com/uzbek and the BBC News Uzbek YouTube channel. In Katta Langar Qur’oni izidan (In search of Katta Langar Qur’an) BBC News Uzbek teams up with Uzbekistan’s popular TV channel, Sevimli TV, to trace the twists and turns in the life of the unique manuscript.
The documentary editor, BBC News Uzbek’s Diloram Ibrahimova, says: “Telling the story of the rare 8th century Qur’an demanded great sensitivity and a very careful approach. Our film is a culmination of months-long collaboration between BBC News Uzbek and Sevimli TV and showcases the expertise and creativity of the BBC teams in London and Sevimli TV film crew in Tashkent.”
The idea of the joint project came from the Head of Sevimli TV, Firdavs Abdukhalikov, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on editorial collaboration with BBC News Uzbek. He supported the project from the start. Throughout the month of Ramadan, as the documentary was being filmed, Sevimli TV featured daily primetime series in which the fascinating discoveries made by the joint team were shared with the channel’s viewers. Firdavs Abdukhalikov says: “Our joint project is a great contribution to the research into the ‘Katta Langar’ Qur’an. I am really happy that Sevimli TV viewers can now watch the BBC News Uzbek film about this manuscript that is unique in the Muslim world.”
Joint BBC and Sevimli TV team travelled to the remote mountainous village of Katta Langar in Uzbekistan, home to the manuscript considered to be one of the very first written versions of the Qur’an. The documentary presenter and producer, Luiza Iskandariy, says: “It was fascinating to learn how this little village harboured its great treasure. Throughout our journey every new discovery kept adding new questions and intricacies to our story, also reflecting the history of the region.”
The film probes various explanations of how the “Katta Langar” Qur’an appeared in Central Asia and how its pages ended up in different countries. Luiza speaks with the villagers whose ancestors and relatives trace their proud guardianship from the 15th century. The cherished manuscript, which survived a journey from Arabia via Iran and Afghanistan to Central Asia, was seized many times – by the colonising tsarist Russian army, by the KGB in the Soviet times, and finally, for safekeeping by newly independent state of Uzbekistan. The investigation also takes the joint crew to an Uzbek village whose residents claim their ancestry from the Arabian Peninsula and still display elements of the Arab culture.
The documentary establishes that the bulk of the missing pages – a total of 81 – are kept in the St Petersburg Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. Twelve pages are in treasury of the Spiritual Directorate of the Muslims of Uzbekistan in Tashkent while random pages are in other locations in Tashkent, and in a museum and a library in Bukhara. An estimated hundred pages of the “Katta Langar” Qur’an are still unaccounted for.
Now live on the BBC News Uzbek website, Katta Langar Qur’oni izidan will air on Sevimli TV this week. It also will be broadcast on BBC News Uzbek TV partner station in Afghanistan, Arezo TV.
BBC News Uzbek, which has a weekly reach of 2.3m across platforms, offers content tailored for Uzbek-speakers in Uzbekistan as well as Afghanistan and the rest of the world, and is one of the largest international news providers in the region. In addition to the website bbc.com/uzbek, BBC News Uzbek connects with audiences via Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Odnoklassniki as well as Telegram. The BBC’s 10-minute TV news bulletin for Uzbek-speakers in Afghanistan has a weekly audience of 1.8 million.
BBC News Uzbek is part of BBC World Service.
(Source: BBC press release)
28 August 2019
As Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports on its website, two more murders in August have brought the number of journalists killed in connection with their work in Mexico in 2019 to at least ten, confirming Mexico’s status as the world’s deadliest country for the media. In the absence of a strong reaction from the government, RSF offers its recommendations on how to address this extreme level of violence and the almost total impunity.
More than 90% of the crimes of violence against journalists in Mexico go unpunished, fuelling the vicious cycle of violence and impunity. It was for this reason that, in March 2019, RSF asked the International Criminal Court to look into the impunity for murders and disappearances of journalists from 2006 to 2018, under President López Obrador’s two predecessors, Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto.
In response to the surge in the number of journalists murdered in 2019, RSF has provided the Mexican authorities, including the president’s office, with its recommendations on the measures that need to be taken.
RSF recommends that the Mexican authorities should:
1) Reinforce journalists’ safety:
– By improving the effectiveness and response time of the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, increasing its human and financial resources and enhancing its role in preventing risks, especially in the most dangerous states.
– By rapidly implementing the recommendations of the “Diagnosis of the Functioning of the Mechanism”, that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights gave to the Mexican authorities on 29 July and made public on August 26.
– By implementing a general policy for taking care of journalists and family members who are the victims of forced displacement.
2) Reinforce investigative resources
Given that the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) will soon be incorporated into a new Special Prosecutor’s Office for Human Rights, there is an urgent need to:
– Reinforce the FEADLE’s prerogatives and its human and financial resources.
– Quickly release the new guidelines for FEADLE investigations into crimes of violence against journalists and explain how the FEADLE’s decisions can be appealed.
– Encourage the FEADLE to make full use of its power under article 21 of the criminal code to transfer investigations into crimes against freedom of expression from the local to the federal level. RSF is of the view that this power should be used without delay in three of this year’s murder cases, those of Ruíz, Sarabia and Romero.
– Ensure that the new Approved Protocol for Investigating Crimes against Freedom of Expression, adopted in October 2018, is effectively applied.
– Ensure that the new Special Prosecutor’s Office for Human Rights – of which the FEADLE will be a section – quickly establishes close contacts with civil society organizations in order to discuss the new goals and challenges.
Mexico is ranked 144th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
(Source: RSF)
31 July 2019
- ‘Inheritance’ will be produced in Abu Dhabi and is expected to air in 2020
- Long-running British show ‘EastEnders’ former writer and showrunner Tony Jordan attached as creator of ’Inheritance’
- ‘Inheritance’ is latest milestone in twofour54’s longstanding partnership with MBC Studios and Image Nation Abu Dhabi
twofour54 Abu Dhabi, MBC Studios and Image Nation Abu Dhabi today announced a new partnership to produce the world’s first Arabic-language soap opera ‘Inheritance’.
Under the agreement, a dedicated studio will be built for the show in Abu Dhabi which will serve as the main location for filming. twofour54 will invest directly in the production, and MBC is set to benefit from the Abu Dhabi Film Commission’s 30% rebate on production spend in the Emirate. Both parties will work closely with Image Nation Abu Dhabi on talent and script development for the project.
The show’s unique format sets it apart from other Arabic shows in the region. By definition, a soap opera is an open-ended narrative that continues with multiple story lines for years – in some cases, decades. At present, while there are many Arabic drama series, none are scheduled to run indefinitely.
Anchoring a long-term production in the UAE will have a significant positive impact on Abu Dhabi’s thriving media and production industry. The soap opera is slated to shoot for more than 250 days of the year, and the production team estimate the show will generate over 200 jobs in the first year alone. ‘Inheritance’ is expected to act as a magnet, creating the demand and work that will attract new companies to Abu Dhabi to support the development of a landmark production.
H.E. Maryam Eid AlMheiri, Vice Chair of twofour54, said: “Partnering with MBC Studios and Image Nation to produce the world’s first Arab soap opera is truly a landmark moment in Arab entertainment industry and cultural history. Over recent years, twofour54 has worked tirelessly to enhance the film and TV industry and attract talented filmmakers, writers, and actors to consider Abu Dhabi as a filming location. It’s imperative that these talents are supported by world-class infrastructure, regulations, and services. This is what we have aimed to do at twofour54, and our work with some of the biggest global content producers – from Disney to Netflix – is testament to our thriving ecosystem. The creation of ‘Inheritance’ is an indication of our region’s rapidly growing media and entertainment industry and will serve as a catalyst to inspire the next generation of storytellers to create more original Arabic content.”
Peter Smith, Managing Director – MBC Studios said: “twofour54 has overseen numerous productions from all parts of the world, offering producers a unique support system and production infrastructure while also excelling in Arabic-language content. We are thrilled to have agreed to a long-term production deal – the first of its kind in the Arab world – with Her Excellency Maryam AlMheiri and her team. We appreciate Image Nation’s support and resources to nurture the regions talent. These soaps are very labour intensive and collectively we view this agreement as a long-term opportunity to rapidly develop aspiring production professional through extensive training of local cast, crew and writers. When it comes to producing key long-running shows in Abu Dhabi, this is only the beginning.
Ben Ross, Chief Content Officer of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, said: “This major production demonstrates the scale and ambition that Abu Dhabi’s entertainment industry has achieved. Even more importantly, a show of this scale will fuel the market’s ongoing growth by providing consistent and significant openings for talent – both in front of and behind the camera. We are honoured to be working with our longstanding partners at MBC Studios and twofour54 to bring this landmark project to life.
‘Inheritance’ was created for MBC Studios by renowned British writer and showrunner Tony Jordan. During his time on BBC 1’s long running soap EastEnders, Tony was responsible for creating some of the show’s best loved characters and planning some of the most iconic storylines in the shows history.
Tony Jordan said, “One of my long-held ambitions has been to create and help develop major drama projects outside the UK, this project is truly ground-breaking and I think we’ve created something really special”.
The development of ‘Inheritance’ is the latest milestone in twofour54’s longstanding partnership with MBC. In 2015, both parties signed a three-year agreement to grow the number of quality Arabic drama productions in Abu Dhabi and the region. This has resulted in a broad range of Arabic content, including ‘Haret El Sheikh’, ‘Hob Bila Hudood’, season one of ‘Boxing Girls’, as well as the first two seasons of critically acclaimed series ‘Al Asouf’.
Principal photography on ‘Inheritance’ will begin in December, with the first episode expected to air in the first quarter of 2020.
(Source: MBC press release)
17 July 2019
Two years since Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine confirmed they were holding Ukrainian blogger and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) contributor Stanislav Aseyev prisoner, RFE/RL is redoubling efforts to secure his release.
“Stanislav has been held virtually incommunicado for two years because of his unflinching reporting from his native Donetsk,” said RFE/RL Acting President Daisy Sindelar. “I know I speak on behalf of a growing number of rights advocates, government officials, lawmakers, and journalists in deploring his detention and demanding his freedom.”
Aseyev, who also wrote for the Ukrainian publications Mirror of the Week and The Ukrainian Week, began blogging for RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service in 2014 under the pen name Stanislav Vasin, contributing dozens of posts about the effects of the conflict on daily life, schooling, politics, and culture until his detention in the summer of 2017. Separatists have reportedly accused him of espionage and threatened him with up to 14 years in custody, although RFE/RL has no knowledge of him being formally charged by any recognized authority of any crime.
In August 2017, the Ukrainian government included his name among those officially listed for a possible prisoner exchange under the supervision of the Trilateral Contact Group, which oversees negotiations among the sides to the conflict. The bipartisan U.S. Congressional Freedom of the Press Caucus has condemned his detention, championing him as “one of the few independent journalists to remain in the region under separatist control to provide objective reporting.” In November 2018, the U.S. Mission to the OSCE urged “the Russian Federation to secure the release of Stanislav Aseyev.” In recent weeks, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Marco Rubio and U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel have called for his freedom.
The One Free Press Coalition, a group of 33 prominent media organizations from around the world, recognized Aseyev this month among its “10 Most Urgent” cases of journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.
Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich has added her voice to efforts on Aseyev’s behalf, writing, “It goes without saying, I am with you in your struggle on behalf of Stanislav Aseyev.”
RFE/RL has also urged the release of Ukrainian Service contributor Oleh Halaziuk, who has been held by Russia-backed separatists in Donetsk since August 2017. Crimean contributor Mykola Semena was convicted of separatism by a Russian court in 2017 and is banned from practicing journalism and leaving the peninsula.
In Isolation: Posts From Donbas is a collection of English-language translations of Aseyev’s reports from the conflict zone for RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service.
RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, known locally as Radio Svoboda, together with its subsidiary Donbas.Realities and Crimea.Realities regional units, averaged 5 million monthly visits to its website in 2018, and sets a standard in the Ukrainian media market for independence, innovation, and professionalism.
[Source: RFE/RL press release]
12 July 2019
- TRT World Citizen launched first international edition of “Journalism for Juniors – J4J” program to help empower Afghan high school students to tell their own stories. Basic journalism workshops were held in the Afghan capital Kabul, in cooperation with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) in the TİKA Education Center on July 8nd – 11th
- More than 100 students from various high schools in Kabul participated in introductory workshops to mobile journalism and story-telling, designed and run by TRT World staff.
- Launched two years ago, the J4J program has so far reached 1,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey as well as local students
Afghanistan has one of the youngest and fastest growing populations in the world – with approximately 63 percent of the population (27.5 million Afghans) below 25 years of age and 46 percent (11.7 million children) under 15 years of age according to the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA).
TRT World launched its “World Citizen” initiative — the first of its kind by a global media network whose employees are on the ground – alongside grassroots humanitarian-based groups.
TRT World has institutionalized its commitment to inspiring humanity’s collective conscience with the launch of “World Citizen” and under the World Citizen umbrella introduced “Journalism for Juniors – J4J” program in October 2017.
Journalism for Juniors workshop series have taken place in Gaziantep, Kilis, Istanbul, Ankara, Kahramanmaraş and many other cities across Turkey.
In partnership with TİKA Turkish Cooperate and Coordination Agency, TRT World Citizen launched its first international edition of “Journalism for Juniors – J4J” program to help empower Afghan high school students to tell their own stories.
TİKA Turkish Cooperate and Coordination Agency has implemented 1,056 projects including education accessibility for 100,000 children in Afghanistan. TİKA also carries out its activities in 59 countries with 61 offices. With TİKA’s offices in Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Herat, Afghanistan is the only country where TİKA has three offices.
With more than 100 participants, an intensive two-day introductory workshop to mobile journalism and story-telling, designed and run by TRT World staff, was provided to young students as an opportunity to learn the basics of journalism while empowering them to take control of their own narratives. After lessons in creative story-boarding, digital news-making, responsible social media usage, and verifying news credibility, the students were asked to write, film, and edit original stories of their own. Over time they will gain the confidence to tell their own stories and share their voice with the world.
Participant Bilal from Kabul, Afghanistan said: “I cannot express my feelings in a few words, but it was a great opportunity. Before the program, I thought journalists have to have a great expensive camera, and all those expensive equipments, but at J4J, I learned that I can be a great journalist by just using my phone.”
Tanya Goudsouzian, TRT World journalist and J4J mentor, said: “It is very important to give these kids the tools they need to tell their own stories and help broaden the media narrative about their country. The media landscape has changed and now allows anyone with a smart phone to share information online. But the basic values and rules of journalism have not changed. What we hoped to achieve is to instill in them a sense of responsibility: to be accurate and ethical in what they convey.”
[Source: TRT World]
