Mahmoud Bouneb, the executive general manager of Al Jazeera Children’s Channel, is a veteran broadcaster with more than 25 years experience of international journalism and media. He came to prominence in 1979 when he began a series of high profile roles that soon established him as an international media expert. The positions varied from press advisor in Iraq to head of communication and press at the League of Arab States’ office in Ottawa, Canada. He then moved to Switzerland with the assignment of editor in the International Department at the Swiss Radio and TV Corporation. And subsequently took on the role of chief editor of Arab programmes for Dutch International Radio and Television NOS. Mahmoud was later appointed head of the Arab Service at the Swiss Radio International, where he stayed for more than seven years. The late Nineties saw him move to the Middle East where he became advisor to the Chairman of Board of Al Jazeera Channel and President of Qatar Radio and TV Corporation. In 2003, he was appointed Executive General Manager for Al Jazeera Children’s Channel which he successfully launched in 2005. What were the strategies put into place for the launch of JCC and Baraem? Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC) was launched in 2005 to provide educational TV content that interacts with Arabic speaking children around the world; a content that complements the schools’ curriculum while entertaining the children and encouraging them to participate through discovering and learning. Earlier in January 2009, JCC launched its preschool channel Baraem TV in an attempt to provide more age specific programs for the different age groups (preschool three to six, and youngsters six to 15). Both Channels are free to view to enable children around the Arab world and Europe to benefit from the content presented. In the light of the increasing importance and usage of the Internet in the lives of the Arab speaking children, JCC and Baraem TV offer a range of multimedia and digital content through their interactive websites (jcctv.net and Baraem.tv). What is the background of those channels, why were they created, what is their mission? Al Jazeera Children’s Channel and Baraem are part of The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development, and therefore they contribute to the QF mission of building human capacity through its use of innovative technology to influence a child’s development in the formative years. The channels’ main mission is to champion children’s lives, with quality programming and multimedia content that educate, inform and entertain. What has been the response in demand for the channels and the website? The feedback we have been receiving, via direct correspondence with the viewers and research outcomes, are positive for both screens (TV and Web). We also got lots of inquiries from families and children living outside our coverage area and for those we are planning to launch a special feed, with own produced content, for the North American region and other countries. How do the channels and programming differ from existing children’s channels? We offer an original, innovative and value-added content educationally, socially and culturally, that appeals to children and helps develop their skills in line with their cultural traits. We don’t acquire just anything and dub it into Arabic, our acquisition department cautiously sources programs from the international market that comply with the editorial and technical guidelines and meet with our mission and objectives. What programming do JCC and Baraem produce? Can you tell us more about the Saladin project? Today more than 60 percent of JCC’s content is home grown and it varies between debate shows, interactive live shows, competition and games, sports magazines, scientific magazines, and news. On the other hand 20 percent of Baraem TV’s content is produced internally. In line with the programming strategy the home grown content comprises interactive shows, storytelling, educational and entertaining programs that help develop the skills and intuition of three to six years old audience. SALADIN is an action-adventure 3D animated TV series, directed to a target audience of 10 to 15 years old. The project is a co-production between Al Jazeera Children’s Channel and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), Malaysia, it comprises of two television seasons of thirteen episodes each (Season 1 is expected in Q2 2010; and Season 2 in Q2 2011). MIPJUNIOR is a good and relevant platform for us to share our experience with global industry players and I am honored to present the MIPJUNIOR keynote speech. Both JCC and Baraem have made a tremendous difference to the Arab TV industry for children, and I am pleased to exchange some of the valuable lessons we have learned with such a prestigious audience. The 17th edition of MIPJUNIOR, the world’s showcase for children’s and youth programming screenings, will be held on the 3-4 October 2009 at the Intercontinental Carlton Hotel, Cannes.