With strong official and media presence, the Arab Media Forum was launched on Saturday, January 28, in Amman, Jordan. The forum is organized by the Media and Communication Sector of the League of Arab States, in partnership with the Jordanian Ministry of Government Communication and the Arab Satellite Broadcasting Authority.
The forum was opened with the attendance of H.E. Faisal Al Shboul, Jordan’s Minister of Government Communication and official spokesperson, H.E. Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Media and Communication Sector at the League of Arab States, along with Arab delegations, representatives of media unions and organizations under the League of Arab States, as well as a number of Arab media professionals and academics.
In his speech, Minister Faisal Al Shboul emphasized the importance of the forum in strengthening joint Arab media cooperation within the framework of the League of Arab States. He highlighted the need to overcome challenges facing Arab media and stressed the importance of promoting media and information literacy in society, especially among younger generations.
For his part, Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi praised the organization of this important forum, stating: “We hope this forum will become a regular platform for dialogue among all partners, governments, councils, professional unions, civil society, and experts, to develop advanced forms of Arab media cooperation.”
During the opening of the forum, the “Our Children Are Hope, and Our Media Is a Responsibility” initiative was launched. The initiative aims to combat harmful and unethical content directed at children, including extremism and inappropriate material. It was launched from the UAE with the support of H.E. Abdul Jalil Al Blooshi, with the goal of unifying Arab efforts to confront harmful content targeting children.
In a speech delivered on behalf of the initiative’s sponsor, Saif Abdul Jalil Al Blooshi stated that the initiative calls for joint Arab action to protect children and to stand united against harmful content that contradicts human values and ethical principles.
He also explained that the initiative aims to introduce strict regulations to monitor content directed at children in the Arab world, as well as to support and encourage the production of meaningful content that promotes positive values.
Al Blooshi called on Arab unions and organizations to unite through this initiative and work together to stop harmful content targeting Arab children.
It is worth noting that the Arab Media Forum continues for four days and includes a variety of activities related to sustainable development, media and information literacy, the risks of electronic games, as well as the 18th meeting of the Arab Committee for Electronic Media under the League of Arab States.