The festival welcomes representatives from ASBU member corporations, private Arab production companies, news agencies, foreign Arab-speaking radio and TV stations, private radio and television networks, and international radio and television unions.
The 24th Arab Radio and Television Festival is set to take place in Tunis from June 26 to 29, bringing together representatives from 20 Arab countries to showcase their finest works in radio and television. Organised by the Arab State Broadcasting Union (ASBU) in partnership with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the Tunisian Radio and Television Establishments, and the Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat), the festival promises a display of creativity and technological innovation.
The festival will feature a technological exhibition with 98 pavilions and 90 exhibitors presenting the latest innovations in audiovisual production. Key highlights include discussions on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and war information, as well as a radio and TV programme market.
This year’s festival theme, “Unity Through Film,” aims to contribute to the development and enhancement of Arab radio and TV production, encouraging innovative and meaningful trends. The event will also honour prominent figures in the Arab media landscape, with 289 works nominated for prizes in both official and parallel competitions.
The festival will recognize 142 entries in the radio competition, the largest participation since the festival’s inception, with 125 in the main competition and 17 in the parallel competition. A significant focus will be on the Palestinian cause, with programming dedicated to the resistance of the Palestinian people and media coverage of the situation in the occupied territories.
The opening evening will feature a performance by Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama at Carthage’s Roman Amphitheatre on June 26, with proceeds going to Palestine. The closing ceremony at the Théâtre de l’Opéra in the Cité de la Culture will include a concert by the Arab Symphony Orchestra and the announcement of the competition winners.
The festival will also host a series of panels and masterclasses on various topics, including globalisation in the entertainment industry, film circulation, co-production among Mediterranean countries, emerging storytelling trends, and the influence of public opinion in the digital age.
Special tributes will be paid to notable figures such as Ziad Makkari (Minister of Information, Lebanon), Hadil Eleyan (journalist, Palestine), Hassan Ben Mohamed Almass (engineer, Qatar), Mayssoun Abdallah Ahmad (journalist, Djibouti), and Sonia Ben Belgacem (actress and producer, Tunisia). Esteemed guests of honour include actors and actresses Fathi Abdelwaheb and Dalia Behiri (Egypt), Saif Sebai and Nadine Tahssine Bik (Syria), Nada Abou Farhat (Lebanon), Rim Saada (Jordan), and Iman Youssef (Sudan).
The festival will also feature a forum on Sino-Arab cooperation in the audiovisual field and three major conferences addressing themes such as “Information War: Palestine as an Example,” “Involving the Public Through AI,” and “Celebrity in the Digital World.”
