Drama extends impact of Lebanon, Our Story project
SAT-7’s Lebanon, Our Story (LOS) project is now complete, but its impact is continuing into 2025 as the drama series For Your Eyes Only is taken to huge new audiences.
SAT-7 has partnered with LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International) – a prominent Lebanese television channel known for its news coverage, talk shows, and dramas – as well as Alsumaria TV, an Iraqi satellite television channel based in Baghdad. These partnerships enable For Your Eyes Only, a 30-episode drama series, to be aired on their networks, taking its powerful message to different audiences across the region.
The drama was a key part of the LOS project, which ran from 2021-2024, and was broadcast on SAT-7 ARABIC last year. Research conducted by IPSOS in 2024 found that over 3.2 million people had watched the drama on SAT-7. For Your Eyes Only is also available on SAT-7 PLUS.
THE IMPACT OF CREATIVE STORYTELLING
For Your Eyes Only explores the lives of Lebanon’s courageous and resilient people in the face of many challenges, celebrating love, unity and diversity as individuals from different backgrounds come together for a common cause. It is a highly creative production, fusing fictional fantasy elements with the daily reality of life in Lebanon. For Your Eyes Only follows the adventures of Dr. Edwards, a man with special healing powers who gives his all to serve those in his community. Those he encounters must work together to battle adversity, hold onto hope, and work towards redemption in a country facing profound hardship.
The drama has clearly made an impact on those who have watched it. A survey conducted by INFOPRO found that 67 per cent of viewers learned about humanity and 55 per cent felt inspired to accept those different from them.[1]
A SHARED STORY FOR LEBANON
For Your Eyes Only was just one part of SAT-7’s now completed LOS project. With peacebuilding, friendship, and openness at its heart, the project sought to help young people write a new, shared story for Lebanon.
LOS was formed in response to poor civic engagement and social erosion – especially among youth in communities hosting large numbers of refugees – and sought to bring together young people of various backgrounds and beliefs within Lebanon.
Another key part of LOS was its Storytelling Clubs. Young people were able to reach across social dividing lines and identify common struggles, interests, and means of overcoming hardship. As they did so, beautiful stories of perseverance and acceptance emerged. These were formed into a book and a series of short documentaries.
The aim of the Lebanon, Our Story project was that young members (aged 15-25) of various religious and ethnic groups possess a shared narrative of hope that drives social cohesion and provides an impetus for meaningful civic engagement. Research conducted at the end of the project found progress towards these goals: 66.7% of respondents reported hope and the promise of change in regard to cross-community relations; 76% reported interacting with members of society from a different background on a daily basis; and 19% participated in civic engagement activities.
Maroun Bou Rached, Executive Director of SAT-7 Lebanon, said, “We are really proud of all that has been achieved through the Lebanon, Our Story project over the last three years, especially given the very challenging context in our country due to the Holy Land conflict. The Storytelling Clubs, the book, the documentaries, and the drama highlight the power of stories to bring diverse people together and grow in their understanding of humanity and acceptance of the other. When we consider the ministry of Jesus, He often used stories to teach people, and He calls us as His followers to be peace-makers in our communities.”
Lebanon, Our Story was funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supported through the Centre for Church-based Development and the Danish Bible Society, and implemented by SAT-7 Lebanon in partnership with the Lebanese Bible Society and Humanship.
[1] Results based on 1,268 Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews