ASBU Standing Committees

ASBU Standing Committees are established in accordance with Article XIV of the ASBU Convention:

Prerogatives of the Standing Committees:

Prerogatives of the Standing Committee forAdministrative, Financial and Legal Affairs:

The Standing Committee for Administrative, Financial and Legal Affairs is one of the main advisory bodies that support ASBU in achieving its objectives in the administrative, financial and legal fields, as mentioned in the ASBU convention; this committee deals with the following issues in particular:

• Discuss ASBU draft annual budget and prepare a report thereon to be submitted to the Executive Council.
• Review the final financial statements and the report of the statutory auditor before they are submitted together with the Committee's opinion to the Executive Council.
• Meet with the statutory auditors tasked with auditing ASBU accounts if need be, as well as review and audit the administrative and financial books, records and documents of all ASBU bodies in case of need.
• Review all amendments related to the ASBU Convention and its administrative, financial and legal regulations and submit recommendations thereon to the Executive Council.
• Review any administrative, financial and legal issues referred to it by the General Assembly, the Executive Council or the Standing Bodies and record its remarks and recommendations thereon before submitting them to the Executive Council.
• Interpret the provisions of the ASBU Convention, its bylaws and regulations.

Prerogatives of the Standing Technical Committee :

The Standing Technical Committee is one of the main advisory bodies that support ASBU in achieving its objectives in the technical field; this committee deals with the following issues in particular:

• Study ways of developing and coordinating cooperation among member corporations in the field of engineering, exchange experiences and information, standardize systems, standards and devices in the engineering field to facilitate the work of the member corporations.
• Develop appropriate coordination mechanisms to preserve the interests of member corporations so as to enable them to:
  • Obtain the necessary frequency requirements in all frequency ranges allocated for audiovisual broadcasting and endeavor to regulate the use of these frequencies in the Arab world in cooperation with international and regional organizations.
  • Access appropriate orbital positions of the satellite systemsc. Coordinate Arab efforts and positions in international and regional conferences and organizations.
• Seek solutions at the level of ASBU for any disputes that may arise between the member corporations as regards technical aspects in the audiovisual field of .
• Work towards the implementation of appropriate audio and video broadcasting technology and follow trends in the field.
• Suggest improvements in the work of the engineering departments of the member corporations.
• Study radio transmission systems (voice and image), satellite applications, cable and terrestrialtransmission systems, work on standardizing the systems used in the Arab region and propose the necessary plans in this regard.
• Design engineering plans and studies to develop and coordinate the exchange of news and audio and video programs between the member corporations.
• Study the technical issues related to the audiovisual production and operation and propose the necessary plans to develop the member corporations' work in this field.
• Propose the necessary training plans in engineering that respond to member corporations and assess their implementation.
• Prepare the necessary engineering plans to ensure TV and radio coverage of important sports, news and program events.
• Propose plans, studies and research in engineering as regards issues of common interest for all member corporations to facilitate their work.
• Propose engineering seminars.
• Regulate the use of radio waves in the Arab world in cooperation with regional and international organizations.

Prerogatives of the Radio Standing Committee :

The Radio Standing Committee is one of the main advisory bodies that support ASBU towards achieving its objectives in this field, as mentioned in the ASBU convention ; this committee deals with the following issues in particular:

• Prepare radio plans and programs to promote common Arab action in this field throughout the Arab region.
• Prepare the necessary plans to develop the exchange of programs and radio news among the member corporations.
• Discuss ways of coordination, exchange of expertise, information and services among Arab radio stations.
• Discuss ways of developing the work of Arab radio stations and keep pace with the latest technological developments in this field.
• Propose radio training plans that respond to the members’requirements and assess their implementation.
• Propose seminars, festivals, studies and research in the radio field.
• Discuss ways of international cooperation in the field of radio broadcasting.

Prerogatives of the TV Programs Standing Committee for:

The TV programs Standing Committee for is one of the main advisory bodies that support ASBU towards achieving its objectives; this Committee deals with the following issues in particular:

• Prepare plans and programs to promote and develop common Arab action in this field.
• Discuss ways of program coordination, exchange expertise, information and services between Arab TV stations, and promote co-productions between them.
• Prepare the necessary plans for the exchange of television programs among the broadcasting members, the selection program formats and define the exchange mechanism to serve the common interest of member corporations.
• Propose training plans in the TV programs field that respond to the members’requirements and assess their implementation..
• Discuss ways to develop the work of Arab televisions and keep abreast of the latest technological trends in order to enhance the quality of TV programs.
• Propose seminars, festivals and studies related to TV programs.

Prerogatives of the News Standing Committee:

The News Standing Committee is one of the main advisory bodies that support ASBU towards achieving its objectives in this field, as mentioned in the ASBU convention; this committee deals with the following issues in particular

• Prepare the necessary plans for the exchange of news and news programs between the member corporations, determine the exchange mechanism and work towards developing exchanges on an ongoing basis.
• Discuss ways to exchange news with the international broadcasting unions, discuss ways to collaborate with news agencies and international networks, determine and develop mechanisms for such exchange for the benefit of the member corporations.
• Discuss ways to widely disseminate Arab news in the world.
• Discuss ways of coordination, cooperation and exchange of services among member corporations in the field of news and discuss ways of enhancing the operation of news departments.
• Propose training plans in the field of news programs that respond to the members’requirements and assess their implementation.
• Propose seminars and studies in the field of news.

Prerogatives of the Sports Standing Committee :

The Sports Standing Committee is one of the main advisory bodies that support ASBU towards achieving its objectives in this field as mentioned in the ASBU convention ; this committee deals with the following issues in particular:

• Discuss ways to develop the exchange of news and sports programs between member corporations.
• Suggest the following list of sporting events:
  • The list of sporting events that are binding on all members which must pay fees to broadcast these events, at the exception of the ones that do not broadcast sporting events at all..
  • The list of non-binding sporting events to be consulted upon by the Directorate-General with the corporations. This list is binding only to corporations that agree to pay the fees determined by ASBU.
• Discuss the means and methods of radio and television coverage of Arab and international sporting tournaments and establish the necessary coverage plans.
• Discuss ways of cooperation with the international broadcasting unions in the field of sports.
• Discuss relationships with the relevant organizations and unions in the field of sports.
• Propose the necessary training plans in the field of sports that respond to the members’requirements and assess their implementation. Propose seminars and studies related to sports programs.
• Suggest ways and methods of financing through seeking additional revenues from advertising and sponsorship in relation to the sports rights.

Prerogatives of the New Media Standing Committee :

The New Media Standing Committee for is one of the advisory bodies in the field of New Media. In line with ASBU's keenness to keep abreast of the rapid technological changes in the audiovisual scene in the Arab region and the world, and in line with its ongoing efforts to step up its performance and the quality of its services to its Arab member corporations, ASBU has provided all relevant means to establish a specialized committee in the new media field . This committeeworks in accordance with clear mechanisms and criteria to better harness the potential of New and Social Media to develop TV news and program exchanges between the member corporations. The main prerogatives and objectives of the Committee are as follows:

• Develop the institutional capacities of the corporations in the field of New Media at the journalistic (editorial) and program levels
• Develop mechanisms to support the capacity of member corporations to innovate in new media applications, including social media in particular, especially in the field of news and newsrooms.
• Support the policies of member corporations in developing their capacity to use new media applications in news production
• Cooperate with other ASBU standing committees to develop interest in the New Media and to make proposals to develop the ASBU magazine’s content through contributing studies about the New Media.
• Propose practical plans for training on the New Media by monitoring global training trends in the field

Overview of the working groups