Alsbach, Germany [CD-EUDNews]. March 15, the day of Global Youth Day starts very early at the Stimme der Hoffnung Media Center (SdH), the hub of this world wide program, showing more than 10 millions young people in action. (see be-the-sermon-mobilizing-youth-for-mission ).
At 3 a.m. the staff is already in the studio, preparing this 24-hour broadcast around the world. Wolfgang, Sascha, Tobias, the SdH operators, and Daryl Gungadoo, the brain behind this 24-hour event, are committed to control all the different broadcast locations around the world, and queue the segments and transitions in order.
In New Zealand, Sydney, Melbourne, Manila, … the phone is busy, all the contacts are prepared, the youth is ready to start!
The countdown is exciting in the studio… and the timer does not allow mistakes. 10 seconds, 9, 8, … 3, 2, 1 GO!
I’m here to see these guys work with expertise and passion. Watching all the instruments, assuring the best functioning of this “breathtaking” broadcast. This is a marathon, one hour for each segment, and everything is under control to secure the following segments.
It is a challenge, and the youth like challenges! Yes the stories we see on the screen are fantastic. We see the youth singing in hospitals, giving out food in retirement houses, on the streets, offering charity services in their local towns, everything is live. The Youth does not lack creativity and originality, and the church can be proud of the image they are giving.
“This is amazing” says Sascha, watching with one eye on the screen and the other on the timer. At his signal, Wolfgang introduces the new segment. Everything is perfect. It is ready and on the video we see the new hosts. All youth, of course!
Tobias controls all the parameters of the instruments. A worldwide 24-hour live broadcast is not something you do everyday. These youth are professional here in the SdH Media Center, and allowing the transmission of the experiences of millions of other younger people, mingled with a real desire to do the best for the Lord, is something that you cannot explain in a simple written story.
It is 7a.m., we are watching the studio from South Korea. The Youth is excited, connecting live with Skype and sharing its joy to engage in service.
Between segments, Wolfgang makes sure that contacts with the following studios have been established, and assures a smooth transition. Some links did not work as expected. But everything is ready even for the unexpected. An example?
Unfortunately one of the segments was not adequately online. The streaming site had some bandwidth problems, because they were streaming over a Wireless LTE connection. So, the pressure rises because in a few minutes and they should be on the Air… still no signal! But we do not despair, here at the Master Control we are ready with plan B. Finally, at the very last second we get connected, video and audio are online and the broadcasting is safe. “Let’s say that in a normal situation, such connections would not be possible,” says Wolfgang. Is Someone helping from above?
We are at the beginning of this unique day, the youth is doing its job with astounding commitment. We are happy in the SdH studio. A little bit tired, the day will be very long, but we are sure to contribute to another superb news article on the Youth history of the Seventh-day Adventist church.