BBC Arabic inspired to focus on youth issues

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Head of BBC Arabic, Hosam Sokkari said the five-week radio and online campaign showed that there is a huge hunger for content focused on the youth in the Arab world:

'Your future… who decides it? tapped into the lives of young Arabic speakers in the Middle East and North Africa. It went to the places where young people meet and mingle, to interact with them on their own terms and engage them in discussions that touch on their lives. We have been inspired and delighted by the response. Hundreds of thousands of young people personally engaged in the events and thousands took the opportunity to comment on the issues at the broadcast debates, online on bbcarabic.com and by writing their views on the pioneering 'grafitti' style posters.

'They generated passionate and impressive editorial content for our radio listeners and online users and inspired our programme makers with their energy and forthright views. We have learned an enormous amount about this important audience, the young men and women who are the future of the Arab world. It's obvious they want a platform for debate and they want a relationship with the BBC.'

'As a result, we are currently exploring a number of themes we think are very relevant to young audiences in the Arab world. In the spirit of Your future… who decides it? we want this audience to continue contributing ideas and opinions which will shape our output. We know they welcome the opportunity and we look forward to hearing from them via bbcarabic.com'

Over 270,000 people met the BBC, through live broadcast debates, the interactive booths placed in central locations, and the 'graffiti' posters. The dedicated micro-site, bbcarabic.com/future generated around 300,000 page impressions. Almost 33,500 people registered with the site and 4,500 people sent their email contributions to the online version of the debates while the special radio programming on BBC Arabic will have reached millions of listeners worldwide.

Nouran Sallam, moderator of the live debate held in Amman, Jordan, said that the road show gave her an opportunity of a lifetime to get in direct touch with the BBC Arabic audience:
'I was thrilled to feel, firsthand, how passionately our audience follow us and how eager they are for us to get closer to them, to understand them and to engage with them. I met young people in Amman who weren't our listeners, and it was great that they were 'discovering' BBC Arabic for themselves through our debate which, I hope, showcased the best of the BBC.'
Safaa Faisal, who presented the BBC's live debate from Khartoum, Sudan, said meeting with the young Sudanese to talk about one of the most sensitive issues they face, identity, was an eye-opening experience for her:

'We had over 250 passionate, educated and opinionated young people, and many of them were very brave, debating in public an issue normally reserved for private discussions. We were keen to make sure every form of opinion was represented to the millions of our listeners across the Arabic-speaking world. In fact, it was the heart of the matter, the whole reason why we embarked on this debates road show: giving the youth a voice, listening to their untold stories.'