Stars of Science shows of the power of homegrown Arab programing at its best

Like many young people, I grew up mesmerized by the power of Sesame Street. It taught me to read the alphabet before I made it to school; it exposed me to life changing themes like ‘co-operation’ and ‘listening’ and since those early memories of Educational TV I was hooked! Over the years as grew into a person who worked on TV shows rather than just consumed them I have been in search of that holy grail of the TV world and finally I’m thrilled to say… MOVE over Big Bird… The Edutainment Program Stars of Science has landed once more in the Arab world.
A brilliant Initiative of the Qatar Foundation the 9 week program is Educational TV at its best. Who could resist the powerful cocktail of young Arabs, a spirit of Innovation, and shared hopes & dreams to helps humanity. Like sesame Street before it (created as one of the first edutainment format designed to establish mental and emotional foundations for children) Stars of Science offers viewers who are bored of conventional and questionable reality TV formats a chance to watch a raft of young want to be inventors battling it out in front of a Jury to secure their place in a competition that could lead to their ideas moving from a concept to an actual product.


Considering the challenge of having had an entire generation of young people who were reared on a TV diet of trash TV, resulting in a crazy rise of want to be pop stars, it’s extremely refreshing to see scientists, academics and innovators hailed as the new heroes. My heart went out to each and every one of those innovators who stood up full of hope and presented their ideas for everything from Potatoes & people power to lab sampling equipment! Dr. Fouad (the Simon Cowell Mr Bad guy) of the Jury was firm in his feedback but even that didn’t deter the un-selected innovators who later confess in interviews that the experience has just made them more resolute in their vision and mission.

 I was powerfully struck by this buoyant optimism of these young people, some who had traveled miles to attend the casting session and the power of a program to move people from where they are to where they want to be in an ethical & ecological way. By communicating clearly as the program did that you don’t have to be a pop star to be a hero, Stars of Science has unleashed a refreshing new and unlikely pin up. Looks like my Big Bird poster is about to be replaced!