No, this isn't a plot line from the BBC Two satire W1A....
If you're a producer in the BBC's Religion and Ethics Department and you're feeling the urgent need to re-charge your spiritual batteries, you can apparently take advantage of a "Wonder week" away from the BBC:
Beyond Belief producer Rosie Dawson did just that earlier this year, describing the "Wonder week" concept as:
....a scheme dreamed up by my BBC department whereby weary producers can seek refreshment and inspiration away from the demands of programme production and deadlines.
For her "Wonder week", Rosie accepted an invitation to spend a week at the Cambridge Muslim College:
From her write-up of the experience, she certainly seemed to have enjoyed it and drew a lesson from it concerning media coverage of Islam:
I doubt she needed much reminding.But it was simply the experience of being with the people at CMC which will stay with me. I was told to be at home - and I felt I was, almost at once. The four women students were my lunchtime companions ( the food was fantastic, by the way!). Three wore the niqab and I wondered if that might inhibit our relationship, but there was no lack of communication or sharing, and when their faces were presented to me in a women-only Koranic recitation class, it felt like a gift. As the week went on, the friendships with both women and men grew, until in the end there was much banter and teasing. I also ran a couple of sessions on radio interview techniques which developed into passionate discussions about media representations of Islam, a sobering reminder to me of my responsibility as a programme maker.
"and when their faces were presented to me in a women-only Koranic recitation class, it felt like a gift."
ReplyDeleteJesus wept.
That line caught my eye as well. I laughed out loud, in fact.
DeleteSometimes the BBC quite likes rote indoctrination of women in patriarchal cultures. Idiot. Then there's the clear admission that she was there not to take a break from professional duties but in fact on a professional research mission, to have Mohammedans tell her how to report on issues involving them.
I eagerly await a Beeboid spending a "Wonder Week" at the London Chabad House.
Oh FFS, this is really puke-making.
ReplyDeleteOur country's values are under sustained assault and she is helping the besiegers lob in more rotting corpses over the wall.
Would she be happy with a Christian college that insisted on sex segregation? I think we know the answer.
Pass the sick bag !
ReplyDelete'..a scheme dreamed up by my BBC department'
ReplyDeleteActual LOL.
An afterthought:
ReplyDeleteBeing a BBC Producer doesn't mean you are at it 24/7 does it? How many programmes does the average BBC producer produce in a year? I'd be surprised if it was more than 10. And it's not as though they are doing all the creative work.
I very much doubt any of them really need a "wonder week". They should just use the slack periods - and the lengthy periods (no doubt) of home working to seek inspiration.