"For 15 years, the VOA Kurdish Service has distinguished itself with accurate, reliable news and cultural programming that Kurdish speakers in Iraq and other countries have come to find indispensable in their daily lives," said VOA Director Dan Austin.
In a recent survey, 31 percent of Kurds interviewed said that they had listened to VOA Kurdish in the prior week.
Interviews with experts and newsmakers, stringer reports, panel discussions, and call-in shows feature prominently in VOA's Kurdish-language daily programming. Weekly topics include life in America; American profiles; youth issues; the U.S. political process; literature and culture; issues on women, the family, and society; a very popular children's program, Shining Star; listeners mail; and Kurdish and American music. The Service also produces a weekly, a current affairs call-in show with experts in the studio or on the phone.
"When the Kurdish Service of VOA was established, it created a new hope for our people that we are not alone and neglected, but we have major powers that support us....I wish the time could be extended to 24 hours or at least 12 hours," said a journalist in Sulaimania.VOA Kurdish has listeners in the Middle East, Eurasia, Europe, and North America. The Internet site is www.voanews.com/kurdish/.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 115 million people. Programs are produced in 45 languages.
For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail publicaffairs@voa.gov.
