Sawa Magazine is a Finalist for New York Festivals Award
Radio Sawa’s program Sawa Magazine was named a finalist for the New York Festivals® International Radio Program and Promotion Awards for its insightful report on a movement that is effectively using the Internet as a platform to raise awareness about oppression of women. The report shed light on how the movement aims to positively impact the status of women in the Arab world. It was recognized in the category of “Heroes.”
Radio Sawa’s Sawa Magazine delivers to listeners insightful and ground breaking reports on the major events of our time in the Middle East, the United States and the world and creatively reflects on social and cultural developments in recent Arab history.
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The celebrated report featured a young Egyptian blogger, Eman Abdel Rahman, the founder of a blog called Kulena Laila (Arabic for “We are all Laila”) which provides a venue on the Internet for women throughout the Middle East to share their views on issues facing them. As of the time of the report, the blog had 250 contributors from 14 countries around the Middle East including Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Palestinian Territories and Saudi Arabia.
Sawa Magazine’s report highlighted Kulena Laila initiative that has inspired many women in the Middle East because it provides a venue for discussing their issues and status openly in a conservative society that is often oppressive of women and their self-expression. The mass gathering of women bloggers has drawn the attention of a wide spectrum of readers eager to broaden their views on the condition of women within Arab societies.
“This recognition is another example of the success Radio Sawa has achieved in addressing sensitive, seldom discussed topics in the Middle East,” stated Brian Conniff, President of MBN. “Radio Sawa will continue to report on issues that are of vital interest to the people of the Middle East and North Africa.”
The New York Festivals® Radio Program and Promotions Awards recognize “The World’s Best Work” in radio broadcasting. Now entering its 54th year, the NYF® represents over 30 different countries making the NYF® Radio Program and Promotion Awards one of the most well known and widely respected competitions on the globe.
Recent surveys by international research companies such as ACNielsen show that Radio Sawa has an unduplicated weekly reach of an estimated 16 million adults. Radio Sawa is operated by the non-profit corporation “The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.” (MBN). MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves oversight and as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters.
CONTACT:
Chams Eddin
Communications Specialist
Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.
Alhurra Television and Radio Sawa
703-852-9036
ceddin@alhurra.com