After graduating with a BA in Media Communication and Journalism from Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) and pursuing a Master’s degree in Media Studies at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Habib Akiki (BA'20) was selected, along with other students majoring in journalism, political science, and radio/tv, by the Gender Communication and Global Mobility (GCGM) studies unit at NDU, in collaboration with UNESCO to create a one-time radio show back in February called "Radio Talk" in cooperation with several local radio stations during World Radio Day which was prepared remotely using new digital podcast techniques despite all the challenges back then.
Habib highlighted the difficulties he faced during the program preparation by stating, “The biggest challenge yet biggest achievement in this experience was to learn how to adopt nontraditional broadcasting techniques and virtual spaces to run the show.”
More recently, following the success of this project, UNESCO, in collaboration with Voice of Lebanon radio station, launched a youth talk show titled Sawt Jdid (the new voice) and selected Habib to be the content creator and presenter of the show working alongside three media students, including his colleague from the same university, Karim Kawkab, who leads the production of the show.
Karim expressed how pleased he was by stating, “It is a great opportunity to be working with one of the leading radio stations in Lebanon in collaboration with UNESCO in a project that is dedicated to the youth.”
Sawt Jdid, now in its 23rd episode, is a weekly live show tackling social and economic topics that reflect the youth’s interests, needs, and concerns during the current circumstances.
Habib describes his experiences as a “phenomenal opportunity that any journalist should live” and is now the Press and Information Assistant for the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon.