Dubai: The 15th Arab Media Forum (AMF) was officially inaugurated with the keynote speech from Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, Wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai on Tuesday.
@hhshkmohd arrives to #ArabMediaForum to attend official opening ceremony pic.twitter.com/JlBU4EzGpS— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) May 10, 2016
The forum is held under the theme "Media for Good" at the Dubai World Trade Centre on May 10 and 11.
Princess Haya bint Al Hussein calls upon officials in charge of Arab media to give professionals their due rights to secure a decent living— نادي دبي للصحافة (@DubaiPressClub) 10 May 2016
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, at the opening of Arab Media Forum. Virendra Saklani/Gulf News
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the opening session, which started with a welcome note by Mona Ghanim Al Merri, President of the Dubai Press Club and Chairperson of the AMF organizing committee.
Princess Haya, who is also UN messenger of peace and chairperson of the international humanitarian City said, "amidst the political and social disturbances, the humanitarian aspect has been marginalized."
Exhibitors at the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre stand at the Arab Media Forum 2016 venue. Ahmed Ramzan/ Gulf News
These disturbances, also created a distorted image of our religion, and also a distorted image of Arabs, that has nothing to do with the truth.
She also spoke about the importance of the two new ministries, that of happiness and tolerance, in these turbulent times.
The opening was also attended by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Princess Haya called for lifting all sanctions off the fourth estate, the media, to play it's role as it should.
However, she added, everyone should abide to the law, as no one is above the law.
She also called for creating a new charter for the media under the umbrella of AMF.
A crowd gathered at Arab Media Forum in Dubai were all smiles as Shaikh Mohammad toured a set of static displays.
Shaikh Mohammad posed for pictures to delighted forum delegates as he made his way through the event at Dubai World Trade Centre.
He visited several displays including Dubai Media City and Dubai Government.
Nasser Judeh, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, delivered a second keynote speech.
He said that the theme this year is very relevant.
With the turmoil that took place in the region, sometimes humanity and the humanitarian aspect was lost in the media coverage, and the political and other goals took over the coverage.
The first day of the 15th edition of the Arab Media Forum kicked off at the Dubai Trade Center under the slogan 'Media for good'.
The forum's first session, 'media that impacts humanity', tackled the disparity between various Arab media's coverage of humanitarian issues in the region.
"The media is a window to what is going on in the society. It should play a vital role in raising awareness amongst the people through depth in the content people are reading," said Mohamad Al Nughaimish, writer at Asharq Al Awsat Newspaper.
He explained that the camera now captures every detail of what's happening through social media. He questioned the difference between professional journalism and the creativity of youth on social media.
Yasser al Amro, anchor at MBC also pointed out that the openness and transparency of the media depends on each country's government interaction. "The Arab world due to certain patterns of behavior and the political situation, is not really thoroughly reflecting what's in the society," he said.
Hundreds of media personalities and analysts from around the world are expected to congregate at the forum on May 10 and 11.
The two-day forum, will see Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, Wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, delivering the keynote speech later on today.
Second session of the Arab Media Forum, 'Spreading Peace and Humanitarian Principles', underway.
Meditation Garden at Arab Media Forum venue:
Omar Saif Al Ghobash, Ambassador of the UAE to Moscow, said that there is a tremendous opportunity to work with Russia to combat extremism in the region, as 80 per cent of the media that comes out of ISIS is in Arabic and 12 per cent is on Russian.
This means that extremism is also an issue that concern Russia. Speaking about the new ministries in the UAE, he said, that they are facing our own society and categorizing it.
Having a youth ministry indicates that there needs to focus on them. He said that the ministry of happiness is an interesting concept and he is looking forward to how it evolves.
Al Ghobash spoke a little about his book "Letters to a Young Muslim".
