United States Agency for Global Media

Radio Sawa’s report on the humanitarian crisis facing Syrian children was awarded the Silver Medal in the New York Festivals 2015 International Radio Program in the Human Interest category.
For four years, the war in Syria has caused an unfathomable humanitarian crisis and the number of Syrians whose lives have been impacted grows exponentially each year. Millions of Syrian children struggle to survive in refugee camps. There are concerns for their mental and physical health, as well as their education. The Radio Sawa broadcast shed light on this important topic, using a UNICEF report about these forgotten children as the catalyst and included the words of the children themselves.
“The horrors facing Syrian children have been a tragic result of the four-year war in Syria. Radio Sawa’s reporting follows the story of the children and all of those whose lives have been turned upside down due to the fighting,” stated MBN President Brian Conniff. MBN oversees and manages Radio Sawa. “This award is a recognition of Radio Sawa’s tremendous work and the excellent journalists whose reporting go beyond facts and figures, putting a human face to the story.”
Other Radio Sawa finalists at the New York Festivals include a report on underage marriage in Sudan and another report on a new building in Omaha, Nebraska, that houses a church, a mosque, and a temple to bring together the three different faiths.
The New York Festivals celebrates broadcasting accomplishments in more than 30 countries, making the New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards one of the most well-known and widely respected competitions in the world.

About Radio Sawa

Radio Sawa is an Arabic-language radio network that broadcasts music and news 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with more than 370 newscasts per week. Newscasts range in length from 30-minute newscasts (including in-depth reports, interviews and analysis) to 90-second headline summaries. Radio Sawa’s flexible format permits the station to respond quickly to developing news events and expand both newscasts and live coverage as required. According to international research firms, Radio Sawa has a weekly reach of nearly 13 million people.
In addition to Radio Sawa, MBN also operates and manages Alhurra Television. MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG provides oversight and serves as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters.