A Television show dedicated to people with special needs is Bahrain’s entry in this year’s Emirates Award for the Arabian Gulf Youth.
The project, called Ruwad (pioneers), is one of 14 finalists in the social entrepreneurship contest, which aims to encourage young people to come up with business ideas that generate profit for social good.
It is the brainchild of Bahrain University’s mass communication students Ahlam Al Senan, Shayma Jasim and Yasmin Al Nueirat.
The all-female team were selected from around 200 entries submitted to the Emirates Foundation, which organised the two-day event that started yesterday at St Regis Corniche in Abu Dhabi.
The trio, along with the other finalists, underwent months of online-guided mentorship by the foundation and leading specialists in social enterprise, who helped them create viable conceptual and financial framework for their projects.
Inspired by her 20-year-old brother Abdullah, who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth, Ms Nueirat hopes the show will serve as a platform for special needs people to showcase their budding talent.
“My brother spends hours in front of the TV watching shows and series and then takes the camera and keeps talking and imitating presenters and actors,” the 24-year-old told the GDN.
“He then asks me if he is as good as they are.
“I started to think of a way that can help him do the thing he likes and I came up with this idea with my friends – to allow him and other people with disabilities to be in the media, just like anyone else.
“These people have talents and are very smart in their own way and we have to help them.
“In my college I see a lot of special needs students, which means they get the same education as me and everyone else.”
The team has already met Information, Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Minister Isa Al Hammadi, who reportedly pledged to help them get the project off the ground.
“We met Mr Al Hammadi and he promised to provide us with all the equipment needed, such as cameras and lighting equipment,” said Ms Nueirat.
“He really encouraged us and didn’t want us to feel disappointed, so he promised to allow us to air it on Bahrain TV channel once a week for three months.
“We will also have a YouTube channel which we will depend on for profits.”
Only special needs people will be hired for the show, from crew members to directors and presenters.
“We won’t target only people with special needs but the entire Bahraini society,” said Ms Nueirat.
“We are also hoping to set up our own TV channel in the future to reach other countries such as Qatar, Morocco, Kuwait and Egypt.
“Our ideas were discussed with many societies that care for the disabled in Bahrain and it really garnered their
interest.”
All 14 teams yesterday presented their projects in the presence of a five-member judging panel comprising Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group retail director Muna Al Gurg, Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME’s Development (Dubai SME) chief executive Abdul Baset Al Janahi, Total E&P United Arab Emirates vice-president and chief strategy officer Sultan Al Hajji, Ashoka Middle East chief executive Dr Iman Bibars and Tamkeen chief executive Amal Ishaq Kooheji.
Three winners will be announced today for a chance to win 100,000 dirhams, 70,000 dirhams and 50,000 dirhams respectively. They will be honoured by the event’s patron, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is UAE Foreign Minister and Emirates Foundation chairman.
Foundation chief programmes officer Maytha Al Habsi said the overall quality of this year’s performance was even better than last year’s edition. “Last year, there were a lot of business ideas but many of them were not sustainable, I may say, or were not good ideas to generate real profit,” she told the GDN on the sidelines of yesterday’s event.
“However, this year participants showed that they have an understanding of social entrepreneurship.”
Among other participants is 33-year-old Emirati Laila Al Shehhi who wants to plant Jojoba and Jatropha as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels through her project ‘Green Gold’.
Saudi Faisal Al Malki, 24, plans to develop a physical aid that will assist anyone with knee, pelvis and joint problems.
Saudi Khalid Al Khudair, 32, addresses the growing problem of female employment in Saudi by setting up the first female recruiting agency, an online job-seeking service.
shahlaa@gdn.com.bh
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