KUWAIT CITY, April 25, (KUNA): Kuwaiti Minister of Oil and Minister of Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah inaugurated at Sheraton Kuwait on Sunday the seventh meeting of the Arab Media Forum (AMF-2010).
The two-day gathering, themed “Media - Technology and Communication,” is being held under auspices, and in presence, of His Highness Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Platform
In his address to the opening session, Sheikh Ahmad said the event offered a platform for the crème de la crème of the Arab intelligentsia to discuss crucial media issues.
“On top of its agenda are the relationships between media, on one hand, and international politics and information technology under globalization,” he said.
“The gathering will tackle other key issues such as the ceiling of media freedom in the light of social and moral responsibilities, the parameters of chief editors’ responsibilities, the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the development of media, and the state of Arab satellite TV channels,” he disclosed.
“The Arab media decision-makers need to cope up with the accelerated ICT developments and introduce the latest achievements in this domain.
“The ICT revolution compels us to double efforts to build the capacity of the media personnel perfectly in tune with the global changes,” Sheikh Ahmad underscored.
“The State of Kuwait has been one of the earliest countries to recognize the effective role of media in social and cultural development. The country adopted a range of measures to empower the media institutions, enhance press freedom and promote social development capitalizing on the role of individuals. Kuwait takes pride in its strong presence on the Arab media arena, “ he affirmed.
“The Arab world enjoys huge potentials and creative media professionals and can easily absorb and accommodate the different cultures; this provides ground for opening up to the outside world, open-skies policy and exchanges among nations with different cultures,” the minister noted.
Role
Sheikh Ahmad highlighted the importance of social responsibility of the media decision-makers while exercising their role in conveying news and information to the public.
He voiced hope that the ongoing gathering would be able to achieve the desired target of promoting the performance of Arab media.
Meanwhile, AMF Secretary General Madhi Al-Khamis commended Kuwait for setting the stage for this gathering which brought together some 200 ministers, media decision-makers, notable intelligentsia figures, chief editors and representatives of trade unions from various Arab countries.
“The unprecedented revolution of the information technology opened new horizons for exchanges among peoples with different cultures and necessitates greater efforts to tap into the ICT applications,” Khamis said.
“Since its initiation in 2002, the AMF has been able to make outstanding achievements in a short span of time; it joined the Arab Information Ministers Council as an observer and the Arab League’s standing committee on media,” he pointed out. The AMF chief thanked Bahraini King Hamad Bin Issa Al-Khalifa and Saudi Minister of Information and Culture Dr. Abdulaziz Khoujah for their firm support for the AMF.
During the opening session King Hamad and Khoujah were given the Arab award for media creativity - 2010 in recognition of their contributions to development of positive media strategies in the Arab region.
HH Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah was also honored at the end of the session for his kind sponsorship of the event.
After the session, HH the Prime Minister opened the exhibition of “Mass Media and ICT, a sideline event which features the world’s latest ICT achievements and products relating to mass media.