Dubai: An international communications conference presenting influential research studies pertaining to the Arab media and Asian communication media in general will be held for the first time in the Middle East at the American University in Dubai (AUD).
The 24th annual international conference of the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) will bring 225 specialists in the field of information and communication from around the world, who have done extensive research on specific media topics, to present their exclusive findings and discuss key issues through panel discussions and sessions from June 10 to June 13.
Held under the theme ‘Communicating In an E-Asia: Values, Technologies and Challenges’, the conference, open for free to the public, is expected to attract academics, media professionals and students who are interested in the latest studies and findings being done in the Asian context.
Dr Bradley Freeman, Associate Professor of Communication and Information Studies at AUD, said that most of the time, this part of the region looks towards the west and the US when it comes to communications research, since most of it comes from there, and it’s now time to look at research coming from the east because the world is changing.
A”MIC represents the largest number of communication scholars in Asia, and this will give us the chance to connect with them and get to know more about their findings,” he said. “The field of media studies and media research is still growing in this region and we need to create more opportunities to create research that tells us about the media in the Arab world. This is why it’s important to hold this conference.”
Dr Carol Melhem-Moufarrej, Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Communication and Information Studies at AUD, said this premier learning event will contribute to the creation of knowledge in media in the Arab world.
“The topics and research presented will open the door for UAE residents to build on that research and use it to improve and strengthen media in the Arab world,” she said.
The conference will have a unified but multi-topic framework including the following panel discussions: Media and Health in Asia: Exploring a core of Asian cultural issues, E-Communication in the Arab World: Technologies, Opportunities and New Frontiers, Democracy and New Media: An Exploration in the 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections, Media and Health in Asia and Changing Roles, Shifting Perceptions: Gender and Diversity in the Digital Environment.
All the sessions will be in English, said Dr Carol with the programme details available on the AUD website. Only one session discussing the problems facing media in the Arab world will be in Arabic.
