Latest news with #DarsArabic
Al-Ahram Weekly
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Dars … keep learning!
BBC News Arabic has launched Dars (Arabic for Lesson), a new educational programme for children who cannot continue their education due to conflicts and wars. According to Fiona Crack, Deputy Global Director of BBC News, "a 2025 report by the UNICIF estimated that at least 30 million children were out of school in the Middle East and North Africa, many of whom are displaced due to conflict." Crack explained that Dars is an award-winning BBC World Service programme that supports education for children aged 11 to 16. It is designed for children whose access to education has been restricted by conflict and war across Central Asia. Since 2023, BBC News Afghanistan, broadcast in Pashto and Dari, has provided free education to millions of children in Afghanistan. Crack continued, "Dars is extending its reach to BBC News Arabic, providing a free education programme for children who have been cut off from education across the Middle East." She noted that in its first season, Dars will run for 12 episodes across 12 weeks, broadcasting on Sundays weekly on BBC News Arabic. "The programme is recorded in Cairo with local presenters, and English language lessons are presented from London by senior journalists from BBC News Arabic," Crack said. The programme sends messages of hope to the children, encouraging them to speak about their aspirations and future. For the first five weeks, it will address children's mental health, teaching them to understand and express their feelings. The messages are carefully curated by mental health specialists in the Arab region, where almost 700,000 children have lost access to education in Gaza and 17 million in Sudan. Sudan's education minister, Ahmed Khalifa, said 70 percent of Sudan's schools had been destroyed. He described the educational crisis there as a "fearful reality." Crack told Ahram Online that the BBC fully funds the production of all Dars Arabic programmes. She explained that the programme capitalizes on the expertise of BBC World Service and BBC Education teams to provide efficient, high-quality programming rooted in the BBC's public service values. Crack further indicated that audiences can watch Dars Arabic weekly on BBC News Arabic every Sunday at 07:30 CLT. The programme will be rerun at 12:05 CLT and throughout the week. Speaking to Ahram Online, Nancy El-Nakib, News Editor of Dars Arabi, said five experts from Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, and Yemen will present the programme. "We used the available material for broadcasting news at the BBC to offer the children an opportunity to stay in touch with education, applying the BBC's slogan' To educate, To inform, To entertain,'" El-Nakib added. She stressed that the children would receive learning materials and topics compatible with Arab culture. Furthermore, El-Nakib explained that Dars is presented in Modern Standard Arabic to ensure that all the audiences understand it with no language barriers that could prevent them from achieving the programme's educational goals. She also noted that the programme will not contain any violent, distressing, or inappropriate material. In addition, El-Nakib indicated that clips from the programme will be available to watch on BBC News Arabic digital platforms and YouTube. The programme will also be broadcast on BBC News Arabic's lifeline radio services in Gaza and Syria, available on medium wave and FM. "The programme is not premiering in any single country first. It rolls out across BBC News Arabic, which airs in all three countries and across North Africa and the Middle East simultaneously," Crack told Ahram Online. Similarly, "Emergency Education response," which began on 1 January, is another educational initiative that has benefited around 18,000 children. According to Sahar Al-Jobury, Chief UNRWA Representative Office in Cairo, the initiative offers intensive Arabic, English, Math, and Science curricula, shortening education to three months. Al-Jobury added that 95 percent of Gaza's schools had been destroyed, and 273 employees in education had been killed, including 166 teachers. "Olives Grandchildren" is another initiative launched in Cairo by Esraa Aly. Speaking to Ahram Online, Aly said the initiative relies on volunteers who teach classes to children from Gaza four days a week from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at an educational centre and serve them meals. Short link:
BBC News
10-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
'I miss my school': BBC launches Arabic programme for children in war zones
Tareq, 10, from Gaza, and Safaa, 14, from Sudan live about 2,000km apart. They have never met, but they share a harsh reality - war has stolen their education."When I saw my school in ruins, a deep sadness overwhelmed me. I long for it to return to what it once was," Tareq tells the BBC from Gaza."Despite everything, I haven't stopped learning. I study at home, making sure not to waste a moment so when I do go back to school, I will be ready," he Sudan, Safaa dreams of becoming a heart surgeon. "I'm still holding on to hope," she says, but she has traumatic memories of the country's civil war."Bodies were scattered everywhere, which deeply moved me and made me want to save lives instead of seeing them being lost." Tareq and Safaa are among the 30 million children who, according to the United Nations children's agency Unicef, are out of school in the Middle East and North Africa. It estimates that more than half - 16.5 million - are in Sudan alone. In response, the BBC World Service has launched an Arabic edition of its award-winning educational programme Dars - or Lesson. In the past year in Gaza, "over 600,000 children - that's all the school-aged children in Gaza - didn't get education", says Saleem Oweis, a spokesperson for Unicef."We're seeing a pattern of how conflicts, insecurity and crises are inflicting real harm on children's education and learning," he Sudan, nearly two years after a civil war erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, millions of children are living in refugee camps where education is only available through local an interview with the BBC, Sudan's education minister, Ahmed Khalifa, highlights the scale of devastation."No state was spared," he says. "Sudan has approximately 15,000 public schools. Between 60% and 70% of these schools have been completely damaged, losing their foundations, infrastructure and books."Even in safer states, schools have suffered damage due to systematic destruction by militias." Dars was first launched in 2023 for children in Afghanistan, including girls barred from secondary school, with the United Nations describing it as a "learning lifeline" for children unable to attend for children between the ages of 11 and 16, Dars Arabic has weekly lessons on a range of subjects including maths, technology, climate and mental also features the stories of children, such as Tareq and Safaa, who despite war and other obstacles, are still determined to learn. The first episode aired on Sunday 9 February, on BBC News Arabic TV. New episodes are broadcast weekly on Sundays at 05:30 GMT (07:30 EET), with repeats at 10:05 GMT (12:05 EET) and throughout the programme is also available on digital platforms, including BBC News Arabic YouTube, as well as lifeline radio services in Gaza and Syria.
