Young Arab Media Leaders Programme addresses environmental journalism, climate change, sustainability

As many as 51 young men and women from 18 Arab countries are participating in the fifth edition of the Young Arab Media Leaders Programme, continuing for the second week under the patronage of Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Chairman of the Arab Youth Center.

The programme includes interactive workshops and practical lectures that discuss a variety of topics and issues, including environmental journalism, climate change, and sustainability at the Dubai Youth Center, the Dubai Press Club, in cooperation with Google, Al-Mashhad TV, the Bloomberg TV, the American University in Dubai, the New Media Academy, Al-Bayan newspaper, Sky News, CNN, and the Emirates News Agency (WAM).

The programme, which is organised by the Arab Youth Center, is one of the largest training functions that focus on practical skills at the level of the Arab world, in partnership with media institutions and academies, and targets outstanding young people in the final stages of university studies or at the beginning of their professional career after graduation, with the aim of enhancing their skills, building their capabilities, enriching their experiences, and raising their competitiveness for the labour market.

Addressing the programme, Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, Director-General of the Emirates News Agency (WAM), spoke about the tools and requirements for ensuring success and excellence in the media field. He addressed the issue during a special discussion session on the role of media and youth in Arab cultural work where he focused on the importance of acquiring knowledge and continuous learning, and keeping pace with and adopting modern technological tools and artificial intelligence in the media field, and developing the media skills of young cadres through specialised training courses.

Al Rayssi stressed that the media field in the coming stage will face a major challenge. "AI tools and technologies today enable the preparation of content in smart ways, without human intervention, and it has also become easy to insert false information into content that no one notices, and to spread it widely to have negative effects, which requires us to adopt and keep pace with technology in a positive way and harness it to serve the media and society in the right way."

He added that despite the existing challenges, the current time is ripe for excellence in the field of media, away from the private and directed agendas of some international media institutions, noting the qualified and trained media human resources in the Arab world that can achieve the goals and aspirations of their countries and contribute to the development of their societies".

Al Rayssi touched on the importance of providing meaningful content that benefits society and "serves the process of development and progress in the Arab world, and reflects our true values that we were raised on".

"It's an important matter, especially in a changing world, and there are few countries that are keen to keep these values, and it should be paid attention to, especially in the case of media and electronic wars on values in different countries," he added.

At the end of the  session, Al Rayssi answered the questions of the participants, which focused on the role of national media as a tool for conveying the achievements of the country and its civilisational message. The participants also asked about the preparations for the next session of the World Media Congress.

He affirmed that the national media is keen to perform its developmental role to the fullest possible extent thanks to the support and patronage of the UAE wise leadership. "The media carries a lofty message in introducing the world to the developmental achievements of the country and its vision for the future."

A session titled "The Role of Content in Developing the Tool" was held at the Creative Youth Centre in Dubai. During the session, Saud Al Darbi, Head of the News and Publishing Centre at Dubai Media Incorporated and Editor-in-Chief of Al Bayan newspaper, spoke about the need for media institutions to keep pace with the developments of artificial intelligence tools. He stressed the importance of elevating the content and promoting professionalism of the media message. Hanada Taha Thomure, Director, Zayed University, Zai Arabic Language Research Center, spoke about the importance of the Arabic language in the media. She cited examples of media programmes whose content is in Arabic and the impact they have had on the public. She called on young people to the importance of speaking Arabic and preserving it to safeguard heritage and identity.

Source: Khaleej Times