Dubai: The tenth Arab Media Forum was officially opened at the Grand Hyatt in Dubai on Tuesday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The forum started with a keynote address by Emad Abu Gazi, Egyptian Minister of Culture, who attended instead of Egypt's post revolution Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. The participation of the Egyptian minister came in the wake of large-scale political, social and media shifts witnessed in Egypt and other parts of the wider Middle East, a topic that dominated the discussion forums.
The minister conveyed apologies from Sharaf to Shaikh Mohammad. Sharaf had cancelled because of the fragile political situation in his country.
"Prime Minister Essam Sharaf was very keen on attending to represent Egypt, the Egypt of the revolution," he said, referring to the uprising in Egypt that toppled the Hosni Mubarak regime.
In his speech, he highlighted the long-standing relationship between Egypt and the UAE, recalling Shaikh Zayed's firm support for Egypt, and spoke of the importance of media in bringing change to Egypt.
He recounted Egypt's media history, saying that Egyptian media evolved from being the mouthpiece of the regimes that have ruled the country to "becoming the weapon of the people".
"Prior to the recent changes in the region's political landscape, governments had controlled the media, restricted democracy and took advantage of the non-existence of independent media. But the last few months have proved to be historical in terms of the media industry that has driven changes in Tunisia and Egypt. We believe the changes will bring better life, human dignity and freedom," he said.
Abu Gazi's lecture was followed by a question and answer session in which he clarified the role and ambitions of the new post-revolution regime in Egypt.
Themed ‘Arab Media: Riding out Storms of Change', the two-day forum at Grand Hyatt assembled more than 2,400 media personalities and experts from Arab countries and around the world.
The event will conclude on Wednesday with the Arab Journalism Awards.
