BBC World Service Trust

The BBC World Service Trust definies its mission as using "the creative power of media to reduce poverty and promote human rights by inspiring people to build better lives" ^[1]

The Trust works with the media in Developing Countries all over the world to produce programmes suited to the local audience as well as helping to build media capacity and infrastructure.

Iraq

As part of the Department for International Development's (DFID) Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance to Iraq, 2003, the BBC World Service Trust was awarded contratcs worth over £6.5 million to rebuild the country's media infrastructure. An initial £390,000 was given to produce humanitarian programmes for broadcast on the BBC World Service and to assess the state of the Iraqi media. A further £6,140,098 was awarded to establish a broadcasting centre in Basra, to assist in the production of local news, education and entertainment programmes for broadcast on radio and TV, and the provision of equipment and training.^[2]

The culmination of this project was the creation of Al Mirbad TV and Radio in the summer of 2005, a local media outlet covering Southern Iraq. All the 150 staff were trained by the BBC World Service Trust and the day to day running of the station is now in the hands of a local management team. A January 2006 survey showed that 42% of respondents tuned in to Al Mirbad radio at least once a week while 13% of viewers watched Al Mirbad TV.^[3]

In October 2007, the Trust announced the launch of a project to promote freedom of expression in Iraq.