Doha, Qatar 03 May 2010 - Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC) signed an agreement with Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), Qatar's first publishing house, to publish a series of books inspired by the Channels' most popular programs and educational characters.  The "Fafa" book series based on JCC's famous Baraem character will be the first to be launched. The series of books will be distributed by BQFP in Qatar, across the Arab region, and in international markets. 

This step comes as part of the channel's strategy to further expand Baraem's reach to more pre-school children and to generate more interactivity and family engagement. By collaborating with BQFP and drawing on their publishing expertise, the Channel aims to produce a creative and educational book series that will appeal to young children and create a passion for reading.

Further agreements with leading Arab and international publishers are in the pipeline. This project comes as JCC pledges to enrich the lives of Arab children by promoting reading and helping them develop their creative and learning abilities.

JCC's Executive General Manager, Mahmoud Bouneb said: "We strive to diversify our communication tools with children to achieve the highest and most effective reach. There is a major readership deficit in the Arab world nowadays. Therefore, we have taken this initiative in order to provide appealing and vivid content for children in their formative years and play a key role in the rise of an avid readers' generation. We are also hoping to assist parents involved in their children's reading activities."

Amira Abed, Education Program Developer at Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing said: "We at BQFP are delighted to work on this new children's book series with JCC. "Fafa" in recent years has gained unmatched popularity to become one of the most popular characters developed specifically for pre-school children in the Arab world."

"Award-winning author Sally Grindley will write this series of books basing her characters on "Fafa" and her friends and bringing in new adventurous plots that children just love. Illustrator Sirine Matta has created delightful versions of the characters for the printed page. I think fans of "Fafa" will be delighted with this new series. The books will be released in Arabic and English editions at the same time later this year."

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Fafa the pre-schoolers' best friend!
Fafa, the famous animated turtle, along with her long time friend Moumou and two new friends, Oti and Douka, take children on a daily journey of discovery, learning, singing and above all fun on the magical and colorful set of islands (Fafa's Island, Picture Island, and Knowledge Island) on Baraem TV.

Located in the middle of a crystal-clear ocean, Fafa's Island is her own magical space where she provides her young viewers with tips and advice on health and nutrition through songs and exercise.

The Picture Island is the venue for creativity, action and interactivity; this is where our little viewers learn about colours, letters and numbers through games and songs. The Picture Island is also the place for Fafa to connect with her viewers, read their e-mails and display their drawings and pictures.

The Knowledge Island is full of new and exciting information about the different things that Fafa and her friends find in their surroundings. On this Island, children learn about animals, directions, letters, words, forms, shapes, and much more.

Fafa and her friends offer a set of segments designed to add rhythm to children's lives, provide caring advice on appropriate behaviour, and place them in a stimulating, educational and entertaining environment full of new information to nurture their scientific curiosity and encourage a passion for knowledge.

Al Jazeera Children's Channel (JCC) is a Pan-Arab children edutainment channel with a mission to encourage the love of learning and discovery. JCC is dedicated to creating and providing quality programs that enlighten the child's mind.

This goal is realized through research analysis and the production of relevant content that resonates with the needs of this target audience's daily life as well as their culture.

Al Jazeera Children's Channel distinctively selects its programs from the international market. JCC signature productions include debate shows allowing Arab tweens to express their opinion and communicate their thoughts, thematic magazines covering different educational subjects such as Science, Technology and sports as well as game shows that provide audience with general knowledge information and entertainment.

The Channel also produces its own titles of animation and cartoon TV series, and contributes in co-productions with other public mission children's channels around the world.

Al Jazeera Children's Channel is free to view on Arabsat, Nilesat, Hotbird and Eurobird and is distributed by a very large number of operators across Europe.

For more information visit JCC's website www.jcctv.net

Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP) is owned by Qatar Foundation and managed by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Established in October 2008 and headquartered in Doha, BQFP has three main aims: firstly, to publish books of excellence and originality in English and Arabic including fiction and non-fiction for adults and for children, educational books for schools, academic books for universities and researchers, and information and reference titles.

Secondly, BQFP, Qatar's first publishing house, aims to promote the love of reading and writing, and to help establish a vibrant literary culture in Qatar and the Middle East through reading events, book groups and other initiatives such as World Book Day. BQFP also wants to cultivate new literary talent, especially in Arabic, by organizing events to support the development of aspiring new literary talent and running creative writing workshops.

BQFP's third aim is to achieve the transfer of publishing and related skills into Qatar through regular internships and secondments in Doha and at Bloomsbury's headquarters in London, training courses in key areas of publishing, and mentoring of aspiring Qatari publishers. Within this area, BQFP is committed to helping improve standards of translation into and out of Arabic beginning with the first annual BQFP International Translation Conference being run in May 2010 in Doha in partnership with Carnegie-Mellon University Qatar.

For more information on BQFP's activities please refer to our website: http://www.bqfp.com.qa/output/index.html

For more information, please contact:
JCC
Oussama Rahal
Media Relations Officer
Email: press@jcctv.net
Tel: +974 4824516

BQFP
Hind Rasheed
Email: bqfp.media@qf.org.qa
Tel: +974 6448300

© Press Release 2010