Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State, yesterday opened the 10th WAN-IFRA Middle East Conference, being held under the theme "Connecting Content, Reach and Revenue," at the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Dubai Festival City, UAE.

The two-day event, organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers in cooperation with Al Bayan Newspaper as a strategic partner, is being held under the title "Imagine it's 2020."

Among those who attended the conference were Dhaen Shaheen, Chief Executive of Print Sector in Dubai Media Inc. (DMI) and Editor-in-Chief of ‘Al Bayan' Newspaper Group, Manfred Werfel, Deputy CEO, Executive Director Competence Centre Newspaper Production, Saleh Al-Humaidan, managing director of Al Yaum Media House, the leading publishing house in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, and Ibrahim Al Abed, Director General of the National Media Council.

In his keynote address, Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State and Director-General of Dubai Expo 2020 Office, said, "There are strong bonds between World Expo in Dubai in 2020 and the effective role to be played by the media in the coming five years."

She expressed the desire to build partnerships with the approved media outlets, adding that media technologies have paved the way for millions of people to share media tools, since they were earlier confined to news agencies and broadcast stations.

She added, "Today, with a few hundred dollars, we can have a voice file and share it with audiences across the world."

Al Hashimy reiterated that news and mass media are not only confined to writers, broadcasters and professionals but can also be represented by a huge crowd of media professionals from all walks of life worldwide.

She added that the logo of Dubai's World Expo, which will be held under the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future," embodies the "Communication" idea in Dubai and its future as well as the renewable vision aimed to achieve a promising future and progressive thinking.

She also said the World Expo in Dubai in 2020 will reflect the best in architecture, design and technology, urging the media to benefit from the available opportunities that the Expo would bring during the coming five years in order to spread them across the world.

Shaheen said, "We should take into consideration the diversities in peoples' way of thinking and interaction with the media as well as streamlining ways of gaining information."

He also noted that newspapers are still the most influential means of media for the political, economic and cultural elite and decision-makers worldwide.

Shaheen also added that the growth of digital media today depends mainly on traditions and values of traditional journalism. However, the newspaper industry is changeable in nature and requires more dynamics.

At the end, Al Hashimy toured the pavilions of the exhibition held on the side-lines of the conference.
Source: WAM