Manama: The Arab media capital will be announced at the end of this month, the head of Kuwait’s Arab Media Forum has said.
“The announcement will be made on April 28 at the opening of the forum to be held in Kuwait City,” Madhi Al Khamees said.
“We have received applications from several Arab capitals and the selection will be made based on specific criteria in cooperation with the Arab League and an ad hoc committee of Arab experts,” he said.
The Arab media capital will help promote new ideas, create new forms for contacts and communication and boost commitment to professional criteria and standards, Al Khamees said.
“The capital will monitor the media landscape in the Arab world and assess its platforms, tools, means and content,” he said.
“It will promote ethics and calls to comply with the highest professional and ethical standards.”
The forum, under the patronage of Shaikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah, Kuwait’s Prime Minister, will be held under the banner of “media and peace.”
“The forum will look into ways to achieve and maintain public peace and to support development, particularly that the situation in the Arab world has become more complex, mainly at the political and economic levels. Political changes are affecting the community and their impact on media practices should be studied and assessed carefully,” Madhi, a Kuwaiti media veteran, said.
“We want to give the international community the powerful message that the media should be at the service of peace in every single society.”
A forum for youth will be held on April 27-28 and will include several workshops for young men and women making their debut in the media sector, he said.
