The event's main theme is Overcoming the Difficulties of Conveying the Arab Point of View to the West after the famous September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York.
The summit will be held on April 28 and 29 and the Arab Journalism Award will follow on April 30 at the Emirates Towers.
The summit, organised by the Dubai Press Club (DPC), will be held under the patronage of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence and Chairman of Dubai Technology, E-Commerce and Media Free Zone.
More than 20 internationally recognised and highly respected speakers will take part in the event.
Mona Al Marri, the Club's Executive Manager, said: "Informed and open Western viewpoints will make an important contribution to expanding understanding and opening new channels of communication and cooperation between the Arab media and the West."
She noted: "Preparing for this summit took us seven months and it started with choosing the panelists, preparing the invitations, calling up all the speakers and sending them the invitations.
At certain times we had to fly over to some countries such as Egypt. We flew there last December and met Amr Mousa, Secretary General of the Arab League, who accepted the invitation, and he's going to be the keynote speaker in the summit.
"The BBC Dateline programme will be recording most of the debated issues and broadcasting them on BBC television, thereby showing how important this summit is and that it deserves worldwide media coverage due to the controversial issues that are going to be presented.
"I'd like to point out that the main idea of organising this summit is that we as Arab journalists have a difficulty in conveying to the West the right message. We have to know how or what's the best tool to convey our message to the public opinion in the West.
Thus, I'd like to make it clear that we don't have any problem with Western people coming to the summit and criticising us because we are here to learn and exchange expertise," Mona added.
The main topics of the summit have been set beforehand and each speaker will have 10 minutes before opening the podium for debates and discussions for 30 minutes.
Mona commented: "I believe that such an important summit helps put a world focus on the very important issue of how the Arab world and the West view each other and what are the major actions that should be taken from both parties to polish and improve future communication and respective images."
She added: "All the participants, speakers, panelists, audience, and everyone attending, whether they are Arab or Western, are going to talk about the top misconceptions that the West has about the Arabs and vice versa. I hope that this summit helps in conveying the clear messages of both Arabs and Westerns to each other and removing all sorts of existing political and religious barriers. The Arab Media Summit could help influence all decision makers in the Arabian Peninsula and the West and create an open dialogue and positive interaction between all parties."
Mona Al Marri |
Also confirmed are Gebran Tueini, An Nahar editor; Al Hayat newspaper's Dawood Al Sharyan; Tunisia-based Association Arabe de Sociologe's Al Tahar Labib; Kuwaiti writer Mohammed Al Mesfer; writer Ahmed Al Arabe; and head of the Arab Centre for Development and Futuristic Research in Egypt, Jamil Matar.
Editors-in-chief of major Arabic and international print and television groups, leading Arabic journalists and columnists, academics, independent analysts and commentators and senior government officials are expected to attend the two-day summit.
Other Western speakers include author and academic Norman Finkelstein; author and media critic Jack Shaheen; head of the Arab American Institute, Dr James J. Zogby; Al Hayat and Christian Scientist columnist, Helena Cobban; British writer Patrick Seale; and Harvey Morris of the Financial Times.
In addition, Gavin Esler will host the BBC Dateline programme in Dubai with a panel discussion among Arab Media Summit VIP delegates, produced from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry building, which has the Emirates Towers complex among the backdrop of skyscrapers.
The Arab Media Summit is the major forum for Arab journalists to discuss issues related to their profession and the development of the Arab media.
This year's delegates come from major media groups in all Arab countries, as well as from major international titles such as The Times of London, The Guardian and The Washington Post, and from electronic media groups including CNN, Britain's ITV Channel 4, The BBC Arabic service and BBC World Service.
The programme on the first day will see a panel, which includes Bradlee and Rouleau, open proceedings with a discussion on "How the Western Media Views the Arab World and How it Has Changed Since September 11".
This will be followed by Zogby, Cobban and Shaheen discussing "Changes in Perception of the West Towards Arabs," and Huwaidi, Labib and Al Mesfer looking at the other side, "Changes in Perception by Arabs Towards the West."
On Day Two, sessions begin to address the challenges identified on the first day.
Session One sees Bari Atwan, Finkelstein and Al Arabe air their views on "Breaking the Western Barriers", while in Session Two, Khazen, Tueini and Al Sharyan debate "What is the Role of Arab Media". The event will be rounded up with speakers including Sununu, Morris and Matar examining "Ways to Dialogue and Positive Interaction Between Arabs and the West".
The close of the Arab Media Summit signifies the countdown for the prestigious Arab Journalism Award, also presented by the Dubai Press Club.
Mona told Gulf News: "Sheikh Mohammed is expected to attend the Arab Journalism Award's presentation ceremony on April 30 to witness those honoured for excellence in nine categories of Arab media: Best Column, Politics, Business, IT, Environment, Culture, Sport, Best Photograph and Best Cartoon."
Furthermore, VIPs from the UAE media will attend the ceremony as well as a host of senior Arab and Western print and electronic media representatives, diplomats, academics and government representatives.
Winners have already been judged and decided by a panel of respected senior members of the Arab media although the results remain st
