International: BBC My World is a ground-breaking global show for young audiences, explaining the stories behind the news, and providing facts and information for them to make up their own minds about international issues.
It draws on the independent, global reporting of the BBC World Service. It is a co-production with Angelina Jolie and Microsoft Education, with the BBC retaining editorial control over all content.
Targeting a young audience aged 13+, the programme aims to fill a global gap in reliable and trusted information for young audiences in this age group, who are legally allowed on many social media platforms but poorly served by adult news content, and susceptible to the dangers of poor quality ‘fake news’ and disinformation. They are an age group keen to understand more about how trusted news is made and the values that stand behind it.
My World is a weekly half hour TV programme in English. BBC World News, the BBC’s most-watched channel which reaches more than 100m people across the world every week, will run the show each Sunday at 16.30 GMT, and content will be shared across the World Service’s 42 language services. There will also be multi-lingualdistribution in more than 20 countries, including Canada, China, India, South Korea, Bosnia and the United States. A digital version of the programme will be available on the BBC iPlayer in the UK, and globally on the BBC My World YouTube channel.
The programme is presented by Radzi Chinyanganya and Nomia Iqbal.
Jamie Angus
Jamie Angus, Director of the BBC World Service Group said: “There’s a gap in provision for young people who want to understand how the news is made and the values that stand behind it. They need the tools to distinguish the real from the false online, and the skills to think critically about information, wherever they encounter it. Nurturing these abilities is the aim of My World, and they’re crucial for today’s young people, not just for personal development but the future health of global democracy. The BBC World Service is uniquely placed to provide a truly global perspective on the biggest stories and themes of the day.”
Angelina Jolie said: “As a parent I am happy to be able to give my support to a program that aims to help children learn more about the lives of other young people around the world, and connect them to each other. I hope it will help children find the information and tools they need to make a difference on the issues that matter to them, drawing on the BBC World Service’s network of thousands of journalists and multiple language services around the world.”
There is a bespoke learning segment to accompany each show, as well as additional lesson plans created by BBC Learning, all of which will be available through Microsoft Education for a global audience of educators. The content will help the teaching of media literacy in schools in every region of the world.
My World will provide much needed impartial access to information of the highest editorial standard, helping young people to understand the world around them. Last year, the BBC convened a Trusted News Summit bringing together senior figures from major global technology firms and publishing, to initiate a new industry collaboration to tackle dangerous misinformation. At the summit media education was highlighted as a key priority.
My World also builds on the media literacy work that the BBC does in the UK and abroad, both through BBC Young Reporter and the BBC World Service’s Beyond Fake News initiative, which took media literacy workshops to schools in India, Nigeria and Kenya in 2018 and continues to shine a spotlight on disinformation.
Episode One preview and interviewees available on request.
