A new satellite television channel, SAT-7 ACADEMY is set to launch on 1 September. Broadcasting round-the-clock in Arabic, the channel will offer millions of displaced or refugee children complementary learning opportunities through a variety of television programs.

War has forced thirteen million children out of school across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).[1] Schools that have not been destroyed are overcrowded, and the fear of violence has caused parents to keep their children at home and teachers to abandon their posts. Families flee conflict to save their lives, leaving behind their homes and jobs, and putting at risk their children’s futures. These children are in danger of becoming a “lost” generation.

By launching SAT-7 ACADEMY, SAT-7 is striving to help bridge the gap in education, equipping children, parents, and teachers across the region.

“I feel honoured to be taking on the helm of SAT-7 ACADEMY as it represents the core humanitarian values I believe in most: education and social development,” says Juliana Sfeir, SAT-7 ACADEMY’s newly appointed Channel Manager.

WHO IS THE NEXT GENERATION?

SAT-7 ACADEMY seeks to provide a distinctive range of holistic programs that will address this education crisis. The channel will not only aim to supply academic, emotional, and psychological support for children – who are either out of school or need supplementary schooling – its content is designed to help parents better raise their children, and equip teachers with creative teaching methods. SAT-7 ACADEMY is designed to serve the needs of children, parents, and teachers, that will shape the next generation.

“The need is enormous, the dream is colossal, and the time is ripe. I believe, we will soon witness societies without violence and classrooms with creative teaching,” says an optimistic Sfeir.

LEARNING THROUGH TELEVISION

SAT-7 ACADEMY’s program line-up includes new programs made specifically for the new channel:

Your Doctor – a short medical education segment, providing a range of self-care information on first aid, emergency health care, and lifestyle matters;

Storytelling Club ­– a social impact workshop for children dealing with trauma; and With Smyrna – a program presented by a family counsellor that provides practical parenting as well as dealing with trauma and emotional issues.

Popular educational shows, like the on-air school program My School, that are currently being broadcast on SAT-7 KIDS will move to the new channel. My School is teaching subjects such as Maths, English, Arabic, Science, from pre-school to early primary years. The program has achieved broad viewership with an audience of at least 1.3 million people – with the majority watching daily and others at least once a week.[2]

“I am eager to see this channel bring learning to the hearts and minds of refugees and our region’s most underserved children, youth, parents, and poorly equipped educators,” Sfeir says.

E-LEARNING CENTRE

To ensure SAT-7 ACADEMY’s programming can be used to maximum effect, SAT-7 is also launching an online e-learning centre. ­­Viewers will be able to log on via laptops, tablets, and mobile phones to customised profiles with courses available at their fingertips.

The e-learning centre will help viewers further engage by learning at their own pace, and users will have access to even more relevant course material. The E-learning online platform aims to inspire creative and analytical thinking and will include access to an extensive learning library. It will also encourage users to take further related and relevant courses.

ESSENTIAL SERVICES FROM A TRUSTED RESOURCE

SAT-7 ACADEMY is SAT-7’s fifth channel broadcasting across the MENA. For the last 21 years, SAT-7 has aired various educational and social programs, tackling the most pressing and evolving development issues in the region. The launch of SAT-7 ACADEMY is an addition to SAT-7’s ongoing quest to provide the best, most relevant and helpful, holistic programming for its different audiences.

“Through this new channel and the different online platforms bearing our already trusted name, we will provide essential educational services to thousands of families who are in circumstances of considerable hardship. They will be able to access our learning content from any place, at any moment and, soon, through any device,” explains SAT-7 Founder and CEO, Dr Terence Ascott.

HOW TO WATCH

SAT-7 ACADEMY will be broadcast free-to-air from the Nilesat satellite to an audience across the Middle East and North Africa. Additionally, the channel will be viewable via online streaming to Arabic-speakers living around the world.

SAT-7 ACADEMY Satellite footprint

[1] MENA Out-of-School Children Initiative (OOSCI) overview report, April 2015 <https://www.oosci-mena.org/regional-overview#report>.

[2]IPSOS survey of 10 Arabic countries in July 2016.