SAT-7 KIDS NOMINATED FOR BEST CHILDREN’S PROGRAM

The awards are part of the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL festival, which takes place bi-annually in Munich, Germany and are given for the astounding work of media organisations around the world that produce quality programming for children. It is hosted by the PRIX JEUNESSE Foundation, whose aim is to promote quality television that enables children to see, hear, and express themselves through various activities, whilst encouraging them to be aware of and appreciate other cultures.

‘CHATO’ SELECTED AS A FINALIST

Almost four hundred children’s programs were submitted as entries for PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2018, with only a fifth of all program entries selected as finalists for the different categories in the competition. Previously known as Tomorrow is Better, the SAT-7 KIDS program Chato has been selected for its quality production and original, holistic content, in the 7-10 age range non-fiction category.

The program’s name is inspired by the fictional software that the children on the program use to chat with each other – Chato. It aims to help underprivileged children feel strong and find ways to address their everyday challenges using biblical knowledge and a spiritual perspective. Coming from remote areas of Egypt, many of these children are growing up in poverty and are often excluded and deprived of opportunities and learning possibilities. The program uncovers and addresses their questions, problems, and fears.

After speaking with them in their hometowns and villages, the children are invited to come to the SAT-7 studios in Cairo where they create drama segments for the program that address their issues, promoting awareness, empathy, and solidarity with families across the Arab World.

ENDORSED BY THE CHURCH

Albert Fawzi, SAT-7 Egypt’s Executive Director, says:

“This achievement is because of the talented work of Producer Andria Zakaria, the production team that travelled to Upper Egypt to film the program, and many others who have helped to make this program possible.”

The program is sponsored by Kindermissionswerk, a German based child welfare organisation of the Catholic Church. Chato has also been endorsed by His Beatitude Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt. He says:

“I recommend and encourage this project for the good of the Church and the Christian faith in the Middle East. May the Lord bless your work.”

FESTIVAL IN MAY

The festival will take place from 25–30 May 2018, where the winners of the competition will be announced.

“Of course we hope that our program will go the whole way. It deserves to win because it is a unique program that gives the opportunity for underprivileged children of rural Egypt to feel special, to have faith for a better future, to express their struggles and fears and to find solutions,” says
Albert Fawzi.

Launched in 1996, with its international headquarters in Cyprus, SAT-7 broadcasts Christian satellite television to an audience of at least 21 million people in the Middle East and North Africa.
SAT-7 broadcasts in the Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish languages on five channels.

SAT-7 KIDS is the first Arabic Christian channel dedicated exclusively to children and young people. The channel launched in December 2007 and broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the Nilesat (E7WA) satellite. Its audience includes Arabic-speaking children in the Middle East and North Africa. Programs are produced in studios in Cairo, Egypt and Beirut, Lebanon.