The Minister of State, Chairman of the National Media Council, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Jaber, confirmed that the media sector in the UAE possesses flexibility and forward-looking plans to face the repercussions of the current stage the world is going through as a result of the spread of the Corona / Covid-19 / epidemic, and can greatly benefit from the opportunities associated with it and build on it .
This came during the convening of the Ramadan Media Forum, which was organized by the National Council for Remote Information, with the participation of Deputy Chairman of the Dubai Media Council and Director General of the Dubai Government’s Information Office Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs for the Government Coordination Sector Rashid Saeed Al Amri and Acting Director General of the Council Muhammad Jalal Al Raisi , And a number of heads and officials of the national media, and discussed three main axes: the future of the media after "Corona", turning challenges into opportunities, and continuing educational and awareness efforts.
At the beginning of the forum, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber conveyed the greetings of the wise leadership of all workers in the media sector, and its appreciation for the great role they play within the distinguished national efforts to prevent the spread of the Corona virus, stressing that the national media sector has proven its readiness and ability to work under various conditions, in the service of the state, As media efforts throughout the past period resulted in awareness that contributed to strengthening efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
He said that through the vision and efforts of the wise leadership, the UAE is represented by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi The Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces has become a beacon of positive thought and optimism, and that the media should reflect this thought in its content to consolidate and reinforce it among the various segments of society in these circumstances that the entire world is going through.
Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Jaber added that the UAE, thanks to the vision and follow-up of the wise leadership, is moving in the right path, as the measures taken by the government have demonstrated the extent of readiness and readiness that the various sectors enjoy to limit the spread of the Corona virus in a manner that ensures passing this stage for the UAE to continue its path Civilization, pointing out that the success of awareness-raising and educational campaigns carried out by the media requires its continuation and continued focus on addressing the public in various languages and means, to build on the achievement achieved by the various competent authorities.
He pointed out that the media institutions with their various tools, as well as many influencers in social media, have made great and thankful efforts to spread awareness to meet the challenge of Corona, as all countries rely on the media sector to raise awareness, educate and communicate with the public, and this is a great opportunity for the sector to rearrange matters, after what Achieve it in these difficult circumstances.
Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber said that the UAE government, under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is working from now on formulating the state’s strategy for the post-Corona phase to achieve recovery and the resumption of economic activity in the country, and the media sector must comply with this forward-looking vision and start studying the change of business strategies to ensure The sector recovers and benefits from the changes to achieve growth and development.
He added: We must focus on enhancing flexibility and raising efficiency to ensure business continuity and sustainability, and building on what has been achieved in order to continue the achievement, and to enhance public confidence in our tools to ensure continued success .. Since the current circumstance has changed many concepts, we must think about creating new content that fits the changes The spread of the virus has imposed on the nature of people's lives.
Al-Jaber noted that the content industry companies have benefited from the current circumstances, and have strengthened their capabilities and capabilities, hence the importance of thinking in creating distinct, competitive and exclusive content platforms to present to the public, by benefiting from the expansion of relying on digital media, and providing media materials that suit the audience’s aspirations and aspirations .
Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber pointed out that the current Ramadan season witnessed a great development and a qualitative shift in the level of Ramadan programs and drama that achieved high levels of viewing at the level of the Arab world, and had a positive resonance that reflected positively on the reputation and development of the sector, offering thanks to all the media workers and artists at Their great and distinguished efforts.
For its part, Deputy Chairman of the Dubai Media Council and Director General of the Dubai Government’s Media Office, Mona Ghanem Al-Marri, stressed the importance of holding the forum at this time to discuss developments and reflections of the current stage on media work, and discuss the future of the sector after the Corona pandemic.
The Director General of the Sharjah Radio and Television Authority, Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, and the media woman Mariam bin Fahd, and the Emirati writer Awad Al Darmaki, stressed the importance of adhering to the precautionary measures taken by the state, and the national sterilization program, to limit the spread of the virus, as easing some restrictions does not mean negligence and lack of commitment And, this imposes on us and all members of society a shared responsibility to promote educational messages during the coming period, and to create new tools and channels that address the public in different languages to deliver influential awareness messages.
Abdul Rahim Al-Butih Al-Nuaimi, Acting General Manager of Abu Dhabi Media Company, said that during this phase, Abu Dhabi Media Company was able to come up with creative initiatives, and the company intends during the coming period to launch a set of platforms in different languages to reach the country's messages to all segments of society.
The editor-in-chief of Al-Ru'ya newspaper, head of the Emirates Journalists Association, Mohammed Al Hammadi added that the Emirati media succeeded in facing the Corona Virus pandemic (Covid-19) and demonstrated to the world that the UAE has high national capabilities and capabilities, pointing out that the media institutions, both governmental and private, need support during these Stage.
The executive editor of the Gulf newspaper, Raed Barqawi, pointed out that the national media showed high professionalism and succeeded in managing this stage in cooperation and joint coordination with the competent authorities, adding that during the crisis the national media worked diligently as an integrated team, and this will continue after the new Corona virus, as the The message and the goal are clear, and we, as a national media, are together in all circumstances.
The editor-in-chief of Al-Ittihad newspaper Hamad Al-Kaabi said that the media sector proved that it is on the front lines of defense in addition to the medical sector against the Corona pandemic (Covid-19), and now we are focusing our efforts on raising awareness and education among the employment category in the country.
The editor-in-chief of the National Mina Al-Uraibi newspaper noted that the speed of response by officials and authorities in providing information has contributed to enabling sector components to raise societal awareness in public safety procedures and guidelines to limit the spread of this virus.
The editor-in-chief of the Khaleej Times newspaper, Mustafa Al-Zarouni said that the media briefing of the UAE government on the emerging kurna virus has developed well, and the national media has played an important role during the past period, but we hope the information is available in a more flexible way from the competent authorities and that Emirates News Agency is the official source For her, not social media.
The President of the Arab Radio Network, Mahmoud Al-Rasheed, pointed out the importance of creating official and specialized media platforms in different languages that address different segments of the UAE society.