History

Télé Lumière as its name indicates means the "TV of Light". It is the first Christian television station in Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 and the Arab world

Arab world

The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...

 and was founded in 1991 by a group of committed lay people:

• Late Charles Helou
  Charles Helou
  Charles Helou was President of Lebanon from 1964 to 1970.Born in Beirut, Helou was the scion of a powerful Maronite family from Baabda. He graduated with honours from St. Joseph's University in Beirut in 1929, and went on to complete a Law degree in 1934...
  
  , a former President of Lebanon
• Brother Nour
• Jack Kallassi
• Late George Frem (ex. MP and minister)
• George Moawad
• Rola and Sana Nassar
• Dr. Antoine Saad
• Christiane Debbaneh.

Télé Lumière is a non-profit organization, its mission is ecumenical, it is not associated to any political party or movement, do not broadcast any political views and do not accept or promote any commercial endorsements. As a non profit broadcasting station, it has no lucrative purposes and survives only from various donations given by its supporters and friends.
The Church cooperated with this television station since the beginning when she found it one of the best means to promote the principles of justice, love, freedom and human rights; values called for by Christianity everywhere.
Télé Lumière is supervised by the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon and directed by a committee involving religious leaders from various denominations and a group of laity eager to support this distinguished project. The relationship between the Church and Télé Lumière is organized through a "cooperation protocol".
As for the Government, it considers Télé Lumière, through the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, a Christian station, financially independent and having freedom of management and programming controlled only by the authority of the Church.
In June 2003, on Pentecost, Télé Lumière celebrated its 12th anniversary as well as the launching of its satellite station Noursat covering Europe, the Southwest Asia

Southwest Asia

Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...

 and North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

. One year later, in the 8th of September 2004, Noursat began its official broadcast in North and South America, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.
While many TV channels have become event-oriented, either focusing on terrorism, political turmoil and fanaticism, or are limited to amusement and scandals, the openness strategy of Télé Lumière and Noursat, promoting multi-cultural understanding and religious dialogue, have encouraged a large amount of Muslim viewers to watch and participate in the campaigns and programs strengthening peace, targeting coexistence and opposing immorality, violence and terrorism.
After all these years of broadcast, Télé Lumière and Noursat have become a daily bread and hope for the Christian minority in the Arab world

Arab world

The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...

and the diaspora as well as a source of peace for many viewers from different denominations.

Goals

Since its beginning, Télé Lumière has set clear goals that could be summarized as follows:

• A commitment to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Church, respecting other religious beliefs and getting to know and love them in order to work together for the dignity and worth of the human person.
• Reaffirm the faith in Peace and Human Rights in harmony with the values mentioned in the Charter of the United Nations.
• Allowing for the possibility of different races and creeds to gather through a free dialogue to exchange views and experiences and to confront daily problems in all their complexities.
• Spreading true knowledge as a means of human progress, through rejection of racism and openness to others in ways of thinking, acting and ways of life and by encouraging creativity in the various fields of science and arts.
• A respect for all spiritual and worldly authorities as persons and symbols.
• A respect of all laws and regulations.
• A refusal of presenting or marketing political news.

Board of directors

Board of Directors
Télé Lumière/Noursat board of directors:

• Archbishop Roland Abou Jaoudé (President)
• Jack Kallassi (General Manager)
• Brother Nour (General Supervisor)
• Rola Nassar (Financial Manager)
• Dr. Antoine Saad (General Secretary)
• Bishop Bechara Raii (member)
• Bishop George Riachi (member)
• Father Khalil Alwan (member)
• Neemat Frem (member)
• George Moawad (member)
• Sana Nassar (member)
• Raymond Nader (Noursat Executive Director)

External links

• Official Site