A Day at Pearl FM!
By Athira Anand, Member of the Editorial Board
The team of 5 girls of the I.H.S Social Media Council, who won the first prize for the ‘Most Creative Campaign’ during this year’s ‘Test4Good Awards’ were treated to an amazing day at the Pearl FM Radio Station on Monday, the 21st of December 2015.
Test4Good is a KHDA initiative, run by schools and students in Dubai. The ‘Test4Good’ event conducted by the Indian High School Dubai was held on Saturday, the 25th of April 2015, at the school premises for the parents of the students studying in this school. During the event, the parents wrote a test, which was invigilated and marked by students, and this was combined with raising money for autism awareness at the same time.
The team, consisting of members — Saba Salimuddin, Irene Mary Joseph, Greeshma Gopakumar, Delilah Azelia and Athira Anand, all studying in Grade XII — created a video which captured the different methods in which this ‘Test4Good’ event was promoted in the school, for which they won the award for the ‘Most Creative Campaign’.
The girls were taken to the Pearl FM radio station, which is a part of the Al Jalila Cultural Centre, located in Umm Suquiem 3, Jumeirah. The Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children, offers a safe, happy and creative environment for children and their families, with an overall aim to enrich the cultural lives of children and to prepare them to welcome their future.
Before they headed to the station, the girls were taken around the Al Jalila Centre by Mr. Majid, who showed them the different sections of the centre like art, pottery, nutrition, music, media etc.
The Pearl FM radio station is a special project of the Al Jalila Centre. The station, co-founded by British nationals, Jeff Price and Nick Watson, is the first ever radio station designed for children in the United Arab Emirates. Its sister station, Lulu FM is a pioneering project of the centre and is the first Arabic station for kids, which will be launched later.
As a young adult, Price had worked as a volunteer RJ at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, which treats children with rare diseases. Working there had a huge impact on him because back then, that was the only place which provided a children’s radio service.
Talking to Jeff, he says, “I was motivated to start a children’s radio station by the death of the British toddler, Jamie Bulger, who was kidnapped and murdered by two 10 year olds. That’s when I realized that these kids don’t know what they are doing. They are exposed to so much violence — in real and in the media. There’s no one to guide them.” Then he says, “I was 19 when I first dreamt about starting a radio station solely targeted towards children. It has taken me 21 years, but I’ve finally done it.”
Jeff talked some more with the girls, before handing the girls over to Annah Jacob, who hosts the evening show ‘Hits and Homeworks’ from 4–7 pm on all weekdays. Annah, a former student of the Our Own English High School Dubai, talked about the award that the girls had won along with various other topics and even went on to record some of their conversations in the studio.
Next up, the girls had an interactive session with Omar, who hosts the ‘Big Breakfast Show with Omar’ everyday, in the morning from 6–9 am. The girls had a lot of fun in the studio, which was evident from the amount of laughter that happened inside.
The girls were also taught by Ed, about how the production in a radio station takes place. He showed the girls how he converted simple voice-overs into cool advertisements to be played on the radio and he talked all about the behind-the-scenes of a radio station.
All in all, it was a wonderful day for the team, who got to learn a lot about how a radio station works and at the same time, have a lot of fun — a perfect treat for the makers of the ‘Most Creative Campaign’.
About the Reporter:
Athira Anand is a Member of the Editorial Board, currently studying in Grade 12 of The Indian High School.