Press ReleaseOver 60 Media Experts from Middle East and North Africa Meet in Beirut
(November 10, 2008) On November 1-2, the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) held the first ever Regional Forum for Media Development for the Middle East and North Africa. Held in Beirut under the Patronage of HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein Bint, the forum was conducted in partnership with the Lebanese Press Club. Over 60 media experts from the Middle East and North Africa attended the regional forum in Beirut, where they developed common strategies for media development to ensure that free, independent and pluralistic media are at the core of development programs in the region.
The forum was attended by prominent media personalities including speakers Dr. May Chidiac, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation; Gisele Khoury, Al Arabiya; Dr. Nabil Khatib, Al Arabiya; and Dr. Abduaziz Al-Horr from Al Jazeera Training Center. This regional forum was a prelude to the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), which will be held in Athens on December 7-10. The overall aim of both this regional forum and GFMD is to ensure that media development becomes an integral part of development strategies and programmes, similar to education or health. The regional forum also aimed to promote partnerships between the media support groups in the region and to ensure that global media development strategies involve experts from the Middle East and North Africa. RFMD also seeks to provide local and national media development NGOs with the opportunity to create partnerships while presenting their work and experience to the donor community. The forum concluded on November 2 with the election of two participants to present the regional forum’s outcomes and recommendations in Athens in December as representatives of the MENA region. These representatives are Ali Djerri, founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Al Khabar Newspaper, Algeria; and Haitham Atoom, Station Manager, Radio Farah Al Nas, Jordan. “[The MENA Regional Forum for Media Development] was a chance … to be involved in building a new strategy for the future [and also] to feel involved in a new process of cooperation… that we can make a difference," said Haitham Atoom. Internews Network organized the regional forum. Other organizations that comprise the GFMD steering committee include Fundacion para el Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Colombia; South East Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Thailand; Internews Europe, France; Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), United Kingdom; International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), USA; World Association of Newspapers (WAN); BBC World Service Trust, United Kingdom; Environmental Education Media Project, China; Jeanette Minnie, media development consultant, South Africa; Media Rights Agenda, Nigeria; Panos South Asia, India; Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF), Singapore; International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Belgium; International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), United States of America; and The Panos Institute London, United Kingdom. Internews Network President David Hoffman serves as Chair of GFMD. Recommendations from the MENA Regional Forum for Global Development |
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