or “Generations” – is the name of a new Saudi television channel for children, aimed at filling a gap in the production of programs in Arabic for the young generations, and offering an alternative to what one parent describes as “satellite channels' dedicated to either violence and extremism or excessive freedom verging on degradation”. Brainchild of Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, Generations has been running trial broadcasts since the end of Ramadan with programs seeking to produce a “principled generation” of viewers invoking “freedom of thought in their interaction with their society and the outside world”, according to channel staff. The channel's general manager, Sanaa Moumina, who brings 17 years of experience working in children's television, says her mission is to convert into practice the vision of King Abdullah encapsulated in the question: “How should we bring up our children?” Moumina's goals are four-fold, she says: to present children with constructive entertainment through formulating opinion and productive thought that reject both fanaticism and indifference; encourage a spirit of innovation and creation; help audiences see themselves as part of a wider world in which they can interact through dialogue, and encourage mutual respect for other cultures and peoples through Islamic reference, with an Arab slant and Saudi identity. The setting up of the channel, according to channel supervisor and head of Jeddah Television Khalid Al-Beiti, was conducted in record time, with the orders from above coming at the beginning of Ramadan. “Saudi and Arab children are not getting the attention they deserve in terms of children's channels on television,” Al-Beiti says. “There are only five or six channels for them in Arabic, compared to some 50 children's channels in Europe.” This neglect, Al-Beiti argues, is of significance given that studies reveal that children spend on average 900 hours in front of the television per year. “Whereas the time spent per year in school is no more than 800,” Al-Beiti says. Al-Beiti has brought in staff of 16 to the channel, a group which itself could be said to represent two distinct generations, the first being the heads of experience Al-Beiti and Moumina, and the second in the younger forms of ladies Nouf Al-Hazimi and Nada Faran, and gentlemen Muhanned Abdullah and Hamid Banoun, the program presenters chosen from over fifty candidates. Not to be forgotten is director Hattan Rambo, known to colleagues as “maestro”. “Our plans include a mixture of cultural, entertainment, and informative factors, and I think we can have a large part to play in helping produce minds of future generations free from deviant and mistaken thoughts and ideas,” Hattan says. Generations is currently attempting to do this through five programs a day, including “Friend of Generations” and “Talents and Inventions”, which seeks to promote creativity by encouraging children in the Kingdom to take part in the program by coming up with new ideas. “Travel with Us” is a program which hopes to extend its audience's knowledge of other countries, and other shows include one on cookery and another on promoting the principles of the Saudi people as based on Islamic Shariah. Generations, still in its trial phase, is currently broadcasting six hours a day, from nine o'clock in the morning to three in the afternoon. Emission time is expected to increase to 12 hours a day as of next January.
