Egypt is to transmit the Euronews channel on its NileSat satellite network. Ghada Abdel-Kader gets a look in Egyptians will soon be receiving a major European news channel in their living rooms. The chairman of the Egyptian Satellite Company (NileSat), Ahmed Anis, and his counterpart on executive board of the international news channel Euronews, Phillipe Cayla, have signed a contract of cooperation between NileSat and Euronews. Euronews is one of the leading international news channels, covering world news with objectivity and neutrality. It was launched in 1993 as a multi-lingual channel, with news and current events simulcast worldwide in eight languages -- Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. A Turkish service is planned to launch this month. After the recent signing, Anis expressed his delight that Egyptian satellite would carry the channel. "We are sure the message of the channel will have a great response in the Middle East and the Arab world," he said. "The channel will contribute to deepening relations binding Euro- Mediterranean countries." Cayla welcomed the opportunity to reach a new audience. "Euronews... in Arabic isn't only a matter of translation, but is also a matter of exchange of views in the newsroom," he emphasised. A team of journalists is in place to make Arabic programmes and exchange views. "We think we are the best channel to do this," Cayla said. "We have all the important European languages. We have 21 shareholders, and no one is a majority shareholder. So there is no specific country making the agenda for Euronews. Euronews has an agenda of its own and we are going to improve it in the future." Arabic is the channel's eighth language. Launched on 12 July 2008, the service helps facilitate exchanges between the cultures of the European Union and the rest of the world, particularly in the Mediterranean Basin and the Middle East. Euronews communicates with the people of the region and creates a positive atmosphere of dialogue and integration among the people of Europe and the south. The channel has established other close ties in North Africa and the Middle East, as for example with the Marrakesh Film Festival, WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) in Qatar, and the Euro-Med Capital Forum in Tangiers. It works to maintain a long-term partnership in order to establish the channel's position and to ensure a sustained level of awareness among Arabic-speaking peoples. The head of the Arabic service at Euronews, Riad Muasses, said the channel would be broadcast in nine languages simultaneously. "Each journalist is totally free to write what he wants, but at the same time there are some ethics the journalist has to respect," Muasses said. He pointed out that the Arab section of the channel currently has an office in Beirut covering the hot zone of events, whether in Palestine, Iraq or Lebanon itself. "The Arabic section contains 40 journalists from all the corners of the Arab world. Among them are two Egyptian journalists, and in the near future the Arabic section will have full coverage of all political, culture, economic and artistic events in Egypt and the Middle East," Muasses said. The channel has benefited from the strong support of the state authorities of Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt via their public television channels (EPTV, ERTT and ERTU respectively), each of which acquired a stake in the company. SNRT (Moroccan public television) became a shareholder when the Arabic version was launched. The channel has also been a member of COPEAM (the Permanent Conference of the Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators) for many years. The head of the Egypt News Centre ERTU (the Egyptian Radio and Television Union) Abdel-Latif El-Menawi says the choice of Euronews to launch its Arabic service reflects the strong spirit of cooperation between the two organisations. He believes they will continue to work together. El-Menawi said the partnerships would not only be with institutions promoting Arab culture, but also with business and cultural event organisers in Arabic-speaking countries. There will be collaboration on a regular basis with the Arab World Institute, supporting their activities to promote Arab culture around the world. The channel is a partner of the Arab International Women's Forum, which focuses on the professional and economic development of women in Arab countries. The Globe news channel has embraced the new technology facilitating an easy access anytime anywhere on cable, satellite and terrestrial TV. Included in the service is distribution in hotels, airports, on airline networks, IPTV, Internet and mobile phones. During the past five years Euronews has continued its global expansion and now covers all five continents. The latest distribution report issued in July 2009 shows that Euronews became the leading international news channel in Europe. Head of the European Union delegation Marco Franco says: "We are in a fascinating world but also [we have] the paradox that the everyday world is more integrated. On the other hand, misinterpretation and misunderstanding between various worlds are increasing every day." Franco says information can constitute a bridge between peoples of the world, provided this information is based on factual and not sensational news items and is not backed by prejudices to please certain audiences. "In order to be fully effective it is essential for world service television to broadcast in Arabic, and the European Union knows the importance of creating better forms of communicating with its neighbours," Franco added. The channel reaches a wide audience via its French and English language versions, and the programme organisers hope greatly to boost viewer numbers and become the top international news channel in Arabic, rebroadcast by some 30 satellite services including NileSat, ArabSat and host of digital platforms covering more than 300 million households in 150 countries around the world.
