The National Media Council (NMC) is organising the Media Innovation Forum on Tuesday as part of the UAE Innovation Week 2015, aimed at promoting the culture of innovation in the region.

The event coincided with President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan's approval of the UAE's Science, Technology and Innovation Higher Policy.

The move is also in line with the directives of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to designate the period from 22-28 November as the Innovation Week.

The forum is part of the NMC's efforts to draft a national strategy and future vision that contribute to the improvement of the media industry, develop national media workers and launch initiatives to promote the role of media in spreading the message of the UAE to peoples of the world.

The forum will include workshops, lectures, seminars and presentations by innovation leaders, social media influencers and media personalities who will discuss challenges facing the media industry.

Mansour Al Mansouri, Acting Director General of the National Media Council, said, "Through the NMC's strategy aimed at developing the UAE's media industry, we seek to introduce the latest to the media. The upcoming forum is in response to the leaders' ambitious vision for develop the UAE's media sector and promote the overall success of the UAE in various spheres."

The launch of the media innovation forum, he added, also reflects the leadership's vision for investing in people and supporting innovation and excellence to develop programmes and strategies to improve the performance of our national human resources. "The NMC backs the local media sector and investment in this sector in line with our ambitious vision for global excellence in the field of regulating the media sector," Al Mansouri said.

As part of the forum, social media influencers will be hosted in a closed-door workshop along with 30 Emirati participants to introduce innovative ideas to employ social media in promoting patriotism, produce faster reaction to fast-paced global developments, as part of crisis management that uses social networking platforms, and discuss innovative solutions from social media for traditional media.

Participants from Abu Dhabi Media Company, Google Middle East and North Africa, Y2D, a digital media company, Al Arabiya TV Channel will present their experiences and visions for media innovation. .

Source: WAM