Eventful decade for Dubai Press Club

Anniversaries are not an occasion for mindless celebration, but a most appropriate time to look back in introspection and ahead in optimistic determination.

A decade is not a very long period in the history of an organisation, let alone a nation; but for the Dubai Press Club (DPC) and for the Arab media that it was born to serve, the past 10 years were marked by epoch-making paradigm shifts and colossal transformations.

Our fate or fortune was that of a child who was pre-destined to run fast right from the day it was born!

It was in November 1999 that His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued directives to set up the DPC as the first Arab platform to bring together media leaders, journalists, political and economic leaders, cultural and academic personalities and other public figures from around the world.

It sprang from the conviction that unless an unfettered two-way communication between the news makers and news communicators thrived, and unless there were opportunities for continuous skills development and skills recognition, the media in our region would remain where they were. In no time, DPC became a vibrant centre for the exchange of ideas and the development of journalistic skills.

The generous support from the media fraternity and private and public sector bodies in the UAE, the Arab world and beyond enabled DPC to raise the bar for itself in all its many endeavours. The staff at DPC, our principal capital that we are proud of, have always extended their full potential for achieving the goals that we set for ourselves.

DPC's membership base has steadily grown to include well over 2,000 journalists, media experts, academics and students. Being a founding member of the International Association of Press Clubs, it has also been able to facilitate for its members and friends a unique network of media persons across the globe.

Awards

The Arab Journalism Award (AJA), which has now successfully completed eight editions, honoured more than 100 journalists in various categories for their professional excellence.

Today, with a new structure for the award programme in place incorporating the online media and the young talents as well as keeping pace overall with the new developments in the media industry, AJA is the cynosure of all media eyes every year.

In the year 2000, DPC launched the Arab Media Forum, which has become over the years the region's most awaited media gathering that not only hosts the who's who of the world's media, but also discusses threadbare all the issues that concern the media industry in all its diversity. It has attracted media persons from across the globe consistently by virtue of the depth of its themes and the vibrancy of its deliberations.

Preparations for the 9th Arab Media Forum are currently underway; needless to say, it will throw up many surprises in terms of novel themes and fresh ideas that go a long way in taking our media to newer heights.

As part of its commitment to complement the above mentioned initiatives with a solid knowledge base, DPC has also launched the Arab Media Outlook, which is now entering its third edition. It has grown exponentially in terms of its scope and reach, with the third edition promising to cover 15 Arab countries in their entirety.

The DPC team is determined to maintain the Outlook as a source of authentic data and analysis on the Arab media so that policymakers and media experts can rely on it as a definitive reference document.

Training

Last, but not least, DPC has played a leading role over the years in enhancing the professional skills of Arab journalists through a variety of training programmes and workshops covering the entire range of media operations. These have been held in close cooperation with top institutions and media leaders from across the world.

DPC also hosted during the past 10 years a galaxy of dignitaries from all walks of life, including heads of state, ministers, political and business leaders and others, facilitating lively interaction between the news makers and news communicators.

Ten years have gone by, during which the media scene in the Arab world underwent sea changes. More changes are of course on the anvil. Our commitment is to keep pace with change rather than fret and frown over it. It is we who make the future, after all, rather than the other way around!

Mona Al Marri is Chairperson of the Dubai Press Club.