Terence Ascott

Dr Terence Ascott (born, United Kingdom 2 October 1947) is the founder and President of SAT-7. He has lived in the Middle East and North Africa region since 1973, working initially in Christian publishing and later launching several unique Christian satellite television channels, in Arabic, Persian language, and Turkish language. 
He is a writer and speaker on Middle East affairs and is currently based in Nicosia, Cyprus.
==Biography==
Ascott was born and grew up in the London Borough of Bromley in the UK. After studying and working in Civil Engineering and gaining a BSc degree with first-class honors from Middlesex University (1972) and that year's Institute of Civil Engineers’ prize for outstanding undergraduate work, Ascott went into overseas Christian ministry. He initially served in Eastern Europe and then as a photographer, designer and publisher with Operation Mobilisation in Lebanon (1973-1975).
From 1973 to 1976 Ascott also acted as the Middle East Production Coordinator for Living Bibles International.
In 1975 he co-founded Middle East Media and served as its International Director from 1979 to 1995.
During the Lebanese Civil War, Ascott evacuated from Beirut with his wife and one-week old son, Gavin and moved to Cairo. In Egypt, he launched a monthly Arabic newsstand magazine for youth, Huwa wa Hiya (He & She). This was the first Christian magazine to be successfully distributed on newsstands, and was sold in more than a dozen Arab countries. Huwa wa Hiya was published for over two decades and was, for many Arabic speakers, their first exposure to the Christian faith.
After living in Cairo for 14 years, Ascott was deported under Ministerial Decree number 1152, dated 5th April 1989, over human rights advocacy issues and has been based in Cyprus since.
In 1993, he produced The Real Story, a six-part video series about the Arab world; and was the managing editor of the 220-page Cooperative Strategy Group report on Christian presence in the Arab World.
In 1995 Ascott, in partnership with Middle Eastern Christian leaders and around twenty Christian organizations working in the region, launched the Arab World's first satellite television service, SAT-7. He served as the first CEO of SAT-7, from November 1995 until March 2019, when he took on his current role as Founder & President. During this time Ascott also launched other Christian satellite television channels, including one in Farsi (SAT-7 PARS, 2006) and one in Turkish (SAT-7 TÜRK, 2014), as well as the first Christian channel for Arab children (SAT-7 KIDS, 2007).
Terence Ascott has served in an advisory capacity to international Christian radio, television, and print media organizations in the Middle East and was co-founder of the Arabic Literature Convention (1986) and the Arabic Broadcasting Convention (1989). 
Today he serves on the SAT-7 International Council, its Executive Board and several other SAT-7 Channel ministry boards. 
Since January 2017 Terence Ascott has also served as the Chair of the International Board of Middle East Media.
In February 2018, Terence Ascott was elected as the President of the International Group of SIGNIS and, in this capacity, served on the SIGNIS Board of Directors until August 2022.
In October 2018, Terence Ascott was a founding member of the International Council of PAK7, a new television ministry for the people of Pakistan, modeled on SAT-7. 
He and his wife Jacqueline (an iconographer) live in Nicosia, Cyprus and have three grown children and three grandchildren.
==Honor's, decorations, awards and distinctions==
Terence Ascott was awarded the Fellowship of European Broadcasters (FEB) BRIDGE BUILDER AWARD 2000. 
He was also presented with the Christian Broadcasting Council of the United Kingdom’s GOLD EXPLOITS AWARD in 2009.
In December 2011, Ascott was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Christian Ministries degree from Belhaven University “for extraordinary work and achievements in promoting Christianity throughout the Middle East and North Africa.”
==Publications (Examples)==
* 
* Press Freedom and Religion, January 2015
* Why I am Not Charlie, January 2015
* As Christians Flee Iraq, Doors of Opportunity Remain Open, July 2014
* Lying Christians - Believers divided by Culture, February 2014
* Three Years After the Arab Spring, January 2014
* Understanding the Present Situation in Egypt, August 2013
* Five Reasons Indigenous Media Ministries are Vital to Christian Witness in the Middle East, January 2008
* Terence Ascott: Satellite TV can open hearts and minds in Middle East, May 2007
== International speaking engagements (Examples) ==
International Keynote speaker, National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) 2013 Convention
Fellowship of European Broadcasters (FEB) Speaker 2013
Bangor Worldwide Missionary Convention, Bangor, Northern Ireland, August 2008 and August 2014
Category:1947 births 
Category:Company founders
Category:People from London