Jordan Times
Friday, November 14, 2008
Queen Rania to receive first
YouTube Visionary Award
AMMAN (JT) - YouTube, an online video community for people to discover, watch
and share originally created videos, announced on Thursday that Her Majesty
Queen Rania will be the premier recipient of the YouTube Visionary Award.
Her Majesty will accept this honour in recognition of her efforts - via online
video - to rid the world of the stereotypes and misconceptions associated with
Arab and Muslim communities.
“YouTube encourages us to be active participants in a global conversation,
making our voices heard, giving us the power to broadcast ourselves, increasing
knowledge of each other, breaking down the barriers between us clip by clip,”
said Queen Rania.
“It is a pleasure to accept the first YouTube Visionary Award in this spirit,”
she added.
The Visionary Award was established to highlight those who use YouTube as a
global platform for positive social change.
As the site has become a destination for humanitarianism, philanthropy,
education and public service, this award pays tribute to individuals whose
videos advance these principles in innovative, thought-provoking ways.
“Queen Rania sets the standard for breaking down stereotypes and her YouTube
videos are nothing short of inspirational,” said YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley.
“It is both a pleasure and an honour to present her with this much-deserved
tribute.”
Queen Rania launched her YouTube channel in March 2008 to foster open dialogue
and combat ignorance and stereotypes. Her YouTube videos bridge the gap between
Eastern and Western cultures by examining the increasing involvement of women in
the Middle East workforce and by debunking misguided assumptions about Muslims
and Arabs.
To date, Her Majesty’s channel has generated nearly three million video views
and received more than 43,000 messages from users around the world.
YouTube Live is a 90-minute celebration of the vibrant and diverse personalities
from YouTube.com, featuring many of those stars sharing a stage for the first
time.
The event will take place November 22, 2008 in San Francisco, California, at the
Herbst Pavilion in Fort Mason Centre and will stream live for a global audience
of millions at http://youtube.com/live.
A subsidiary of Google, YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform
and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for
original content creators and advertisers large and small.