UPDATE 7/11/11: Voting has now closed and the winner will be announced at the AIBs gala awards ceremony on Wednesday 9th November in London

Anyone can vote for the best international broadcast coverage of democracy uprisings and the Arab Spring and so choose the winner of the AIB Yahoo! Maktoob People’s Choice award for 2011.  The videos can be viewed on Yahoo! Maktoob, the Yahoo! website for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the votes of online viewers will determine the winner.

Broadcasts from Alhurra TV, Aljazeera English, Deutsche Welle Arabic, France24, New Delhi Television (NDTV) and Press TV has been shortlisted and their videos (full length and 5 minute highlights) are available to view on Yahoo! Maktoob.   Four entries are in English with Arabic subtitles and two in Arabic with English subtitles so that they cater for both English-speaking and Arabic-speaking audiences.  The programme which receives the most votes from online viewers will be presented with the award on Nov 9th.

Between them they cover events from all over the Arab Spring including the revolution in Tunisia, the uprisings and conflict in Libya, the Egyptian revolution, unrest in Syria and the demonstrations and crackdown in Bahrain.

How to vote:

  1. Go to the page with all the videos  http://video.maktoob.com/program_videos-مسابقةاتحادالبثالدوليوياهو!-مكتوب-2011-196
  2. This page is in Arabic but broadcasters names are in English as well, so English-speakers can also choose the programmes they would like to watch.
  3. Click on a video that you want to watch and view it.  At the end use the browser back button to return to the page with all videos
  4. When you have decided on the video you want to vote for, select that video and underneath it click on the yellow button which contains the text “VOTE” as well as its Arabic equivalent.
  5. You have to login or register with Yahoo! to vote to prevent multiple voting – follow the instructions which are in English and Arabic
  6. Once are are logged in, cast your vote
  7. Voting closes at the end of Sunday, 6th November (midnight Cairo time)

Thank you for your participation.

TV broadcasts had a huge effect on the uprisings that took place during the Arab Spring – they were shaped by the people taking part and they were of huge importance to inform others and involve them in the protests.  It is fitting that online viewers in the Middle East and across the world will vote to determine the broadcast that affected them most.