BBC World opens up the airwaves to the under-18s in Generation Next

Media News

New Delhi, December 5

Generation Next is the BBC's boldest international broadcasting season yet with nine days of special programming devoted to the voices, experiences, ideas and aspirations of young people from around the globe. BBC World will be joining BBC World Service and bbcnews.com, to bring together young people from all over the world.

One of the highlights of the season is School Day 24 - the biggest ever interactive conversation between young people across the world, which links schools in political 'hot spots' with schools located in areas with opposing views on the local tensions, conflicts and divides.

School Day 24 will give a voice to young people allowing them to talk across social, political and cultural divides about the issues that concern them.

There are link-ups in Albania, Bangladesh, Burma, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, the US and more.

School Day 24 is a special interactive event for schools and young people on television, radio and online across the globe, scheduled to show during daily news bulletins on Wednesday 6 December. Using the global resources of the BBC, satellite broadcasting equipment has been installed in schools to enable teenagers to make their voices heard throughout the day both in their regions and worldwide.

My Generation Next

Anita Rani presents My Generation Next where young people from around the world will use webcams, mobile phones and specially commissioned films to talk about what's really on their minds in two half-hour specials. Also across the week, five exceptional teenagers demonstrate what they are doing to make a difference in their world.

The Hobart Shakespeareans

The fifth-graders at Hobart Elementary School are Latino and Asian children growing up in an underprivileged area of Los Angeles. It's a tough start, especially as English is their second language, but they are lucky enough to be taught by Rafe Esquith, whose motto in life is "be nice and work hard". His drama lessons also produce astonishing results.

Nicola Benedetti - A Winning Story

In 2004, she won the BBC's prestigious Young Musician competition at the age of 16. Since then, Nicola Benedetti's career as a solo violinist has developed at an extraordinary rate. This profile looks at six months of Nicola's life, and features her New York recital debut, several concert engagements, and the build-up to the recording of her second album at the famous Abbey Road studios in London.

Sierra Leone: The Way I See It

Kyle Jones is 15 and visually impaired. He lives in England and has had a pen pal in Sierra Leone for three years. He's about to meet him to find out how disabled people are treated in this part of the world. Graham Satchell travels to Freetown with Kyle to meet his friend.

The Street And The Ball

The Street and the Ball presents six projects that are part of the 'streetfootballworld' network - an international organisation that uses street football to improve the lives of young people living in extreme social conditions.

World Business Report

As well as giving young people the chance to express their views via webcam, World Business Report will be featuring a series of special films looking at teenage tycoons across the globe as well as the lives of two groups of poorer teenagers in New York and India. The team will also cover the backlash which is growing against advertising aimed at children; a look at what the Middle Eastern governments can provide the ever growing youth of Arabia; as well as the African economy and how it's dealing with the high mortality rate among 30-somethings of AIDS and HIV-related diseases.

The season runs from Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 December 2006 across BBC World television and BBC World Service radio. For further information about these and other programmes included in Generation Next and transmission details please visit bbcnews.com/generationnext.

For more information:

Vidhu Aul

Tel: +91-11-23412672

Vidhu.Aul@bbc.co.uk