MUMBAI: The Japanese public broadcaster NHK and Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera Children‘s Channel (JCC) have signed a new co-production agreement to strengthen their collaboration on major offerings over the coming five years.
The signing ceremony took place at JCC‘s premises in the Education City - Qatar. The long-term partners, NHK and JCC, will extend their joint efforts to develop and produce unique educational programs in the fields of science, discovery, technology, environment, and education.
The two broadcasters have already enjoyed success with Discover Science, which was a co-production with NHK affiliate NHK Educational Corporation (NED).
Under the new agreement, NHK, JCC, and NED will discuss a sequel series.
Installing the next-generation ultra-high-sensitivity image-intensifier HD camera on the International Space Station, the project will give a completely new perspective on Earth and space.
NHK‘s executive MD of broadcasting Hidemi Hyuga expressed his pleasure about the partnership with JCC after the signing ceremony in Qatar saying, "NHK is very happy to partner with JCC. From the relationship that the NHK group has enjoyed with JCC over the years, we know that we share the same vision of contributing to the public good and striving for educational and cultural advancement. We look forward to working on various cutting-edge projects together."
Al Jazeera Children‘s Channel (JCC) executive GM Mahmoud Bouneb stated: "This partnership with the NHK group comes in line with our mandate and ambitions to bring the best and most progressive content to our audience and contribute in shaping their way of life, and the way they view each component in their surroundings. We aim at producing cutting-edge programming that is valuable for teachers and students alike. We are pleased to team up again with a credible entity with which we share many of our values and aspirations. We are looking forward to a successful and productive partnership."
Bouneb reiterated the importance of the support of Her Highness Sheikha Moza and Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, which gives JCC the means to be the only Arabic TV channel to venture in such high scale global productions.