ASBU Festival: Tunisia bags 6 prizes in TV and Radio Programmes competitions
Tunis: Tunisia bagged 6 prizes in the 24th Arab Radio and Television Festival's TV and Radio Programmes competitions, during the closing ceremony held on Saturday in Tunis. The festival is organised by ASBU in partnership with the Cultural Affairs Ministry, the Tunisian national Radio and TV and the Arab Satellite Communication Organisation (Arabsat). Main prizes: The Tunisian TV's "Palestine at Heart" show won the 2nd prize in the Variety and Shows category, while the National Radio Station bagged three awards in the "Cultural," "Scientific" and "New Media" categories. Private radio station Diwan FM scooped two awards in the economic programmes categories in the parallel competition, including the first prize in the Variety programmes and the 2nd prize for economic programmes. This year, the ASBU Festival received 289 entries, including 108 in the official competition and 39 in the parallel section. These entries were submitted by 20 television channels, including 6 private channels, in addition to 18 p roduction companies. 142 radio programmes were also submitted, including 125 in the official competition and 17 in the parallel section, an unprecedented number in the history of the festival. A record number of radio broadcasters participated in the official competition, with 20 entries, including 8 private and other international radio stations broadcasting in Arabic, as well as production companies in the parallel section. The closing ceremony was attended by Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister and Acting Minister of Cultural Affairs Moncef Boukthir, Advisor to the President of the Republic Walid Hajjem, ASBU President Mohammad bin Fahd Al-Harithi, Assistant Secretary-General, Head of the Media and Communication Sector Ahmed Rashid Khattabi. Organised on June 26-29 under the theme "Supporting Palestine," this edition kicked off at the Carthage Roman theatre with a concert by Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama with all profits going to Palestine. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse