Media obstacles in the spotlight
by mahmood on 23/11/09 at 4:24 pm
Obstacles facing the media in the Arab world will be addressed at a forum to be held in Bahrain early next month, it was announced yesterday.
The first Arab Media Leaders Forum will feature more than 200 media representatives from across the Middle East.
The event is organised by Bahrain’s Culture and Information Ministry in co-operation with the Arab Media Forum.
Prominent media giants in the region will discuss various subjects facing the sector in hopes of coming up with solutions, said Culture and Information Minister Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.
The minister announced the event during a Press conference which was held at the Bahrain National Museum yesterday.
Shaikha Mai also announced the launch of Bahrain’s first Freedom of the Press Award.
“We hope the Arab Media Leaders forum will be a great asset to the media sector in Bahrain and the Middle East,” she said.
Sessions “It will feature a political gathering for media leaders to allow them to freely discuss their issues.” The two-day event will be held from December 2 with the venue to be announced soon.
It will feature three sessions under the themes discussing media and international changes, the impact of the capital on media and the Arab media future.
The forum will conclude with recommendations to be presented to the authorities concerned.
Shaikha Mai said that the forum would help to improve the media sectors in the Middle East and allow the Bahraini media sector to keep-up with various developments.
On the award, Shaikha Mai said that Bahrain enjoyed a wide scope of Press freedom.
“We are proud of this and therefore the award comes to highlight it,” she said.
Applications will likely be accepted in January or February next year.
The winner will be announced on March, coinciding with World Journalism Day.
Shaikha Mai said that the award would be given out by a new judging committee every year. Arab Media Forum president Madhi Khamis said that the forum would feature a wide variety people who influence the media in its various forms in the Middle East.
“The idea came from the media leaders, who thought that organising such an event would benefit the media sector in the region,” he said.”Kindly, the Information and Culture Ministry adopted the idea.”
Source: GDN
