Abstract
This chapter documents and analyses case studies of Arab-European collaboration in delivering video content for children. With the aim of exploring sources of cultural and financial power, it starts by citing examples of some issues that have arisen in cross-regional provision of children’s screen content, around what makes it “local,” its language, its purpose (fun, education or both) and its appropriateness in certain cultural settings. Keeping these issues in mind, the chapter then presents four case studies of European-Arab collaboration revolving around an app, a series of short educational videos for use on tablets, a digital platform and scripts under development for film and TV, from which it draws insights into the dynamics of production and sites of decision-making about what makes it to screen.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abotera, Mohamed. n.d. Summary CV. https://euroarabchildrensmedia.org/mohamed-abotera/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Alaa El-Din, Mohammed. 2017. Discovery Education Deploys Technology in the Egyptian Knowledge Bank. Daily News Egypt, April 26. https://dailynewssegypt.com/2017/04/26/discovery-education-deploys-technology-egyptian-knowledge-bank/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Al-Nassr, Sara, and Kauthar Odwan. 2016. Comics to TV: The Next Generation. Paper presented to the annual conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research. Leicester: UK, July 27–31.
Alshaer, Atef. 2017. Representation of Language in Arab Media for Children. In Children’s TV and Digital Media in the Arab World: Childhood, Screen Culture and Education, ed. Naomi Sakr and Jeanette Steemers, 182–206. London: IB Tauris.
Anderson, Porter. 2016. Embracing Technology and Arabic Culture, Lamsa App gets Kids Reading. Publishing Perspectives, September 7. https://publishingperspectives.com/2016/09/badr-ward-uae-lamsa-markets/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Anon. 2018. Independent producer based in Abu Dhabi. Authors’ interview. Munich, May 28.
Arab News. 2017a. Lebanese Star Mory Hatem Auditions for Disney’s Aladdin. Arab News, March 29. http://www.arabnews.com/node/1076246/offbeat. Accessed 4 May 2019.
———. 2017b. OSN Partners with Leading Arabic Children’s Edutainment Platform, Lamsa. Arab News, December 23. http://www.arabnews.com/node/1213166/corporate-news. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Arabian Business. 2015. Mondo, Abu Dhabi Media Co Ink Deal for New TV Animated Series. arabianbusiness.com , February 6. https://www.arabianbusiness.com/mondo-abu-dhabi-media-co-ink-deal-for-new-tv-animated-series-581218.html#. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Bassel, Mona. 2018. The Dubbing Dilemma: Disney Cartoons Spark Controversy Across the Arab World. Community Times, September 24. https://communitytimes.me/2018/09/24/disney-in-arabic-by-mona-bassel/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Bisson, Guy. 2018. Interview with Fadel Zahreddine. Mipblog.com , August 27. https://mipblog.com/2018/08/kids-content-in-the-future-should-allow-avatars-to-be-part-of-the-narrative-interview-with-fadel-zahreddine-mbc-group/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
D’Cunha, Suparna Dutt. 2018. Why the Middle East’s Booming Student Population Makes It a Perfect Site for Education Tech Startups. Forbes, March 19. https://www.forbes.com/sites/suparnadutt/2018/03/19/edtech-startups-are-plugging-an-innovation-gap-in-education-in-the-middle-east/#6222bbb84fa4. Accessed 4 May 2019.
DEDI. n.d. Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute: “About Us.” https://www.dedi.org.eg/about-dedi/. Accessed 23 April 2019.
Di Giovanni, Elena. 2017. New Imperialism in (Re)-Translation: Disney in the Arab world. Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 25 (1): 4–17.
Discovery Education EKB. 2016. Helping to Create a Society that Can Learn, Think and Innovate. About Us. https://en.discoveryeducation.ekb.eg/about/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Dolan, Kerry A. 2018. Why No Saudi Arabians Made the Forbes Billionaires List this Year. Forbes, March. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2018/03/06/no-saudi-arabian-billionaires-forbes-list-2018-alwaleed-alamoudi/#4e0d23f01d42. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Dubit. 2018. Goboz: Strategy and Digital Development of the Largest SVOD Across EMEA. Dubit website. https://www.dubitlimited.com/project/goboz. Accessed 23 April 2019.
Edelman Intelligence. 2018. Norton’s My First Device Report. Mount View, CA: Symantec. http://now.symassets.com/content/dam/norton/global/pdfs/reports/Norton_My_First_Device_Report_Oct_2018_Final.pdf. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Egypt Today. 2013. Unlearning Our Lessons. Egypt Today, September 12. http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/10/4/Unlearning-Our-Lessons. Accessed 4 May 2019.
El-Behary, Hend. 2016. Egyptian Animation Fans Press for Return of Beloved Egyptian Dialect. Egypt Independent, May 4. https://ww.egyptindependent.com/disney-animation-fans-press-return-beloved-egyptian-dialect/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Elkashef, Aida. 2015. Legally or Illegally? How to Make a Film in Egypt. Mada Masr, April 19. https://madamasr.com/en/2015/04/19/feature/culture/legally-or-illegally-how-to-make-a-film-in-egypt/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
ElSabry, ElHassan. 2016. Some Thoughts on the ‘Egyptian Knowledge Bank’. Society for Social Studies of Science 4S. blog, February 14. http://www.4sonline.org/blog/post/some_thoughts_on_the_egyptian_knowledge_bank. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Entrepreneur Middle East. 2018. UAE Edtech Startup Lamsa World Secures Investment from MBRIF. Entrepreneur Media, July 3. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/316099. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Field, Roger. 2016. Passion for Animation. digitalstudiome.com , August 15. https://www.digitalstudiome.com/article-10283-passion-for-animation. Accessed 4 May 2019. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Franks, Nico. 2015. Page to Screen. C21 Media, August 9. https://www.c21media.net/page-to-screen/?ss=Majid. Accessed 4 May 2019.
———. 2016. BeIN, Studio 100 Partner on Kids Channel. C21Media, April 1. https://www.c21media.net/bein-studio-100-partner-on-kids-channel/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
———. 2018. MBC Taps Antenna’s Smith for Studio Role. C21 Media, September 18. http://www.c21media.net/mbc-taps-antennas-smith-for-studio-role/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Galer, Sophie Smith. 2017. The Aladdin Controversy Disney Can’t Escape. BBC Online, July 14. http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170714-the-aladdin-controversy-disney-cant-escape. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Goodfellow, Melanie. 2018. Beta, MBC Sign Major Deal to Co-produce Pan-Arab, European Drama Series. Screen Daily, April 11. https://www.screendaily.com/news/beta-mbc-sign-major-deal-to-co-produce-pan-arab-european-drama-series/5128190.article. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Halligan, Neil. 2018. How YouTube Plans to Stay Ahead in the Middle East. Arabian Business, July 15. https://www.arabianbusiness.com/media/400686-how-youtube-plans-to-stay-ahead-in-the-middle-east. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Hjort, Mette. 2015. The Risk Environment of Small-Nation Filmmaking. In European Visions: Small Cinemas in Transition, ed. Janelle Blankenship and Tobias Nagl, 49–64. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.
Kabanda, Patrick. 2018. The Creative Wealth of Nations: Can the Arts Advance Development? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Khalaf, Hala. 2016. Arabic-Language App Lamsa Leads the Way in Digital Learning for Kids. The National. January 26. https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/family/arabic-language-app-lamsa-leads-the-way-in-digital-learning-for-kids-1.221923. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Lynx Qualey, Marcia. 2014. Can’t ‘Let It Go’: The Role of Colloquial and Modern Standard Arabic in Children’s Literature and Entertainment. ArabLit, June 4. https://arablit.org/2014/06/04/cant-let-it-go-the-role-of-colloquial-and-modern-standard-arabic-in-childrens-literature-and-entertainment/. Accessed 6 May 2019.
Mada Masr. 2017. New Education Minister Raises Hopes for Future of Education in Egypt. Mada Masr, February 17. https://madamasr.com/en/2017/02/17/news/u/new-education-minister-raises-hopes-for-future-of-education-in-egypt/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Massey, Doreen. 1993. Power-Geometry and a Progressive Sense of Place. In Mapping the Futures: Local Cultures, Global Change, ed. Jon Bird, Barry Curtis, Tim Putnam, George Robertson, and Lisa Tickner, 59–69. London: Routledge.
Muhanna, Elias. 2014. Translating ‘Frozen’ into Arabic. The New Yorker, May 30. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/translating-frozen-into-arabic. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Newbould, Chris. 2018. Netflix’s Debut Arabic Original ‘Jinn’ Begins Shooting in Jordan. The National, August 13. https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/netflix-s-debut-arabic-original-jinn-begins-shooting-in-jordan-1.759568. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Nielsen, Hans-Christian. 2017. Interview with Naomi Sakr, Denmark-London by Skype, December 22.
Pike, Kirsten. 2018. Disney in Doha: Arab Girls Negotiate Global and Local Versions of Disney. Middle East Journal of Culture and Communications 11 (1): 72–90.
Rose, Gillian. 2016. Rethinking the Geographies of Cultural ‘Objects’ Through Digital Technologies: Interface, Network and Friction. Progress in Human Geography 40 (3): 334–351.
Royal Film Commission Jordan. 2018. ‘Jinn’, First Netflix Arabic Original Series Filmed in Jordan, Started Principal Photography. Online press release August 13. http://www.film.jo/NewsView.aspx?NewsID=165. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Sahlberg, Pasi. 2015. Q: What Makes Finnish Teachers So Special? A: It’s Not Brains. The Guardian, March 31. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/mar/31/finnish-teachers-special-train-teach. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Sakr, Naomi. 2001. Satellite Realms: Transnational Television, Globalization and the Middle East. London: IB Tauris.
———. 2007. Arab Television Today. London: IB Tauris.
———. 2016. Media ‘Globalization’ as Survival Strategy for Authoritarian Regimes in the Arab Middle East. In Global Media and National Policies: The Return of the State, ed. Terry Flew, Petros Iosifidis, and Jeanette Steemers, 173–189. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
———. 2017. Provision, Protection or Participation? Approaches to Regulating Children’s Television in Arab Countries. Media International Australia 163 (1): 31–41.
———. 2018. ‘Smarter, Stronger, Kinder’: Interests at Stake in the Remaking of Iftah ya Simsim for Gulf Children. Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication 11 (1): 9–28.
Sakr, Naomi, and Jeanette Steemers. 2016. Co-producing Content for Pan-Arab Children’s TV: State, Business, and the Workplace. In Production Studies, The Sequel! ed. Miranda Banks, Bridget Conor, and Vicki Mayer, 238–250. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Shaheen, Jack. 2009. Reel Bad Arabs. How Hollywood Vilifies a People. 2nd ed. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press.
Shawki, Tarek. 2015. Interviewed by Amr Khalil for CBC TV talk show Mumkin [It’s Possible]. Cairo, November 18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0H2SGHkric&feature=youtu.be&t=4212. Accessed 4 May 2019.
———. 2017. Interviewed by Rami Radwan for DMC TV talk show 8 El-Sobh (8am). Cairo. December 17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=DKNYiokQCuk. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Sheble, Riham, and Lesley Walker. 2016. Qatar School Pulls Snow White Book for Being ‘Inappropriate’. Doha News, January 21. https://dohanews.co/qatar-school-pulls-snow-white-book-for-being-inappropriate/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Skantzos, Kathy. 2019. A Beacon of Quality: Sam Barnett. CEO Magazine, January 24. https://www.theceomagazine.com/executive-interviews/media-publishing/sam-barnett/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Srinivas, Supriya, and Vijaya Cherian. 2018. MBC CEO Barnett on Surviving Against the Odds. BroadcastProME, March 4. http://broadcastprome.com/interviews/mbc-ceo-thriving-odds/. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Steel, Emily. 2013. Discovery Invests in Digital Learning with Espresso Deal. Financial Times, November 7. https://www.ft.com/content/85bd8020-4736-11e3-b4d3-00144feabdc0. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Steemers, Jeanette, Naomi Sakr, and Christine Singer. 2018. Facilitating Arab-European Dialogue: Consolidated Report on an AHRC Project for Impact and Engagement: Children’s Screen Content in an Era of Forced Migration. London: King’s College London. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/102210294/Consolidated_Report_FinalSV_221018.pdf. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Vadehra, Pranav. 2018. Interview with Darine El Khatib. digitalstudiome.com, April 2. https://www.digitalstudiome.com/broadcast/broadcast-business/29512-interview-with-darine-el-khatib. Accessed 4 May 2019.
Wolfe, Jennifer. 2015. Studio 100 Signs Deal with Jeem TV. Animation World Network, October 6. https://www.awn.com/news/studio-100-media-signs-deal-jeem-tv. Accessed 4 May 2019.
World Bank. 2018. World Bank and Egypt Sign US$500 Million Project to Bring Learning Back to Public Schools. Press Release. April 21. Washington: World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/04/21/world-bank-and-egypt-sign-us500-million-project-to-bring-learning-back-to-public-schools. Accessed 23 April 2019.
World Economic Forum. 2018. The Arab World Competitiveness Report 2018. Geneva: World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Arab-World-Competitiveness-Report-2018/AWCR%202018.0724_1342.pdf. Accessed 23 April 2019.
World Summit Awards. n.d. Jurors. https://www.worldsummitawards.org/person/3621/. Accessed 23 April 2019.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sakr, N., Steemers, J. (2019). Face-to-Face: Cross-Cultural Collaboration in Provision and Delivery. In: Screen Media for Arab and European Children. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25658-6_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25658-6_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-25657-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25658-6
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)