From Reno to MENA: Green Bus Summit Documented by Arabic-Language Documentary

July 26, 2022

School Transportation News Publisher Tony Corpin opens the Green Bus Summit at STN EXPO Reno on July 17, 2022.

The Green Bus Summit at STN EXPO Reno included an international flair with the presence of a production crew that captured video and interviews for a new documentary that will in the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Road to Zero” is produced by Alhurra, an Arabic-language public satellite television channel based in the U.S. and funded by Congress. The documentary follows the race to zero greenhouse gas emissions by changing how things are grown, made and consumed. The purpose of the documentarians from First Nation Films in Reno was to chronicle the Green Bus Summit on July 17, the work of bus manufacturers and infrastructure providers, the experiences of speakers, and the actual electric school buses on display.

“The Road to Zero” will also feature an interview with Alejandra Nunez, the assistant deputy administrator for mobile sources at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nunez provided the opening remarks for a July 19 general session on the $5 billion Clean School Bus Program, which her office oversees. Nunez will be interviewed for “The Road to Zero” in Washington, D.C., next month.

Alhurra is headquartered in Springfield, Virginia and cannot air programming in the U.S., as regulated by the U.S. Information and Educational Act of 1948. As reported by CBS News in 2004, it was started during the Bush administration to improve America’s image in the region, amid negative portrayals by Arab television. It is financed through a grant from the U.S. Agency for Global Media, and independent federal agency funded by Congress.

There is no scheduled air date for “The Road to Zero” as of this report.

Editor’s note: An original version of this article incorrectly referred to Alhurra as part of the Voice of America.