Category: World Service
Date: 19.09.2005
Printable version
BBC Urdu is taking its roadshow team to the Northern territories of Pakistan for the very first time this month.
Its listeners in Gilgit, Karimabad and Skardu will be able to discuss issues central to their lives at audience debates that will make up part of a special season of programmes running from Wednesday 21 September until Sunday 2 October.
The first event will be held on Saturday 24 September at The Serena Hotel in Gilgit at 3.00pm.
The second is on Tuesday 27 September at Hasigawa School in Karimabad at 3.00pm and the third is on Saturday 1 October at the District Council Hall, Skardu at 3.00pm.
The campaign follows on from the hugely successful BBC Sangat. Kahain Aap Sunain Hum (You Say, We Listen) campaign in February that took BBC Urdu teams directly to listeners in the provinces of Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab.
Head of BBC Urdu, Mohammed Hanif, said he is looking forward to the opportunity to interact with the audiences: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to visit audiences in a part of Pakistan missed out in our previous campaign.
"This roadshow, like the last one, continues to capture the essence of BBC Urdu programming, which is for our audiences and about our audiences.
"It will bring us closer to the listeners in Pakistan and will directly channel their voices and their views to the millions of listeners across the region."
Haroon Rashid, BBC Urdu Correspondent - who will be on the roadshow - added: "BBC Urdu team is dedicated to bringing the very best of Urdu-language journalism to its audiences in the region.
"We want BBC Sangat to further reinforce this team's connection with the people we are broadcasting to, so our audiences can benefit even more from the BBC Urdu output."
Haroon will be accompanied on the tour by BBC Urdu producers, Wusatullah Khan and Mubashir Zaidi.
Notes to Editors
BBC Urdu broadcasts three times a day. Its flagship programme, Sairbeen, aired seven days a week at 8.00pm Pakistan Standard Time, provides 60 minutes of news and current affairs.
Jahanuma, which starts at 6.30am, is a 30-minute daily breakfast programme which sets the day's news agenda.
At the end of the day there is Shabnama, a 30-minute round-up of the main events starting at 10.30pm.
In addition, BBC Urdu brings listeners weekly magazine features on sports, science and economy that can also be accessed through its popular online site bbcurdu.com.
BBC World Service is an international radio and online broadcaster delivering programmes and services in 43 languages.
It uses multiple platforms to reach 149 million listeners globally, including SW, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. It has more than 2,000 partner radio stations which take BBC content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones.
Its international online sites include audio and visual content and offer users opportunities to interact directly with world events. They receive over 330 million page impressions a month.
