In a move to globalize Egyptian media and enhance cultural ties, Egypt’s National Media Authority has announced the production of new television programs in 23 different languages, including several primary African tongues, the first such initiative in the Arab world.
According to Ahmed El-Muslimani, President of the National Media Authority, the first set of programs has already been completed in African languages such as Swahili, Amharic, and Fula, while production and editing are currently underway for the remaining languages.
This major expansion aligns with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s vision to globalize Egyptian thought and strengthen Egypt’s cultural and media presence across Africa and beyond.
The first international service episode features a unique Swahili-language presentation of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo. Shafie Mbenda, a presenter from Egypt’s Foreign Broadcast Service, hosted the episode.
The international programming is divided by regional tracks, with the African languages grouped under the banner “Egypt–Africa.”
According to El-Muslimani, the languages being used for this new wave of content include: Swahili, Amharic, Afar, Somali, Hausa, Fula, English, French, Italian, Albanian, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Indonesian, Turkish, Persian, Pashto, Dari, Urdu, and Uzbek.
The first Swahili episode is scheduled to air next week on Egypt’s Channel One, with Arabic subtitles. The Nile TV channel will broadcast duplicate content subtitled in English and French, ensuring wide accessibility for international viewers.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
