2007 annual Arab Broadcast Forum agenda announced

The forum, which takes place 29-30 April in Abu Dhabi, will bring together hundreds of broadcast news professionals from the region and around the world to examine some of the industry's biggest challenges in an open environment.

This year's ABF Agenda has been set by leading executives and journalists from some of the top Arab and global broadcasters and includes some of the most important and specific issues facing Arab news broadcasters today such as media as a competitive business, media's role in conflict zones and the challenges of reaching Arab youth.
ABF's session contributors and moderators will include top journalists, newsmakers and politicians, but debate sessions will depend heavily on delegate interaction.

"The open format we used in last year's forum really succeeded in creating an environment of dynamic debate, ideas exchange and healthy discussion," said Abdul Hamid al Zaidi, ABF Chairman. "I'm sure that this year's forum will continue that success especially considering the weight of topics under discussion. The event will be covered live and uncensored on Al Arabiya and Abu Dhabi TV."

The Arab Broadcast Forum was initially created to promote desperately needed debate and reflection on the challenges and opportunities facing Arab TV news media. Al Arabiya and Abu Dhabi TV are co-host broadcasters for the event.

Ali Al Ahmed, director of Abu Dhabi TV said: "Abu Dhabi TV is honoured to once again co-host the 2nd Arab Broadcast Forum in the UAE. Last year, the event attracted the world's leading broadcasters and they all engaged in a very productive and open debate. In this year's forum, we hope to tackle the many challenges facing our industry and the need to continuously improve our standards as reliable and credible news providers."

"As the leading news source for decision makers across the region, Al Arabiya's partnership with ABF as a co-host broadcaster was a natural and immediate decision," said Nakhle El Hage, Al Arabiya's Head of News. "So much of the global news agenda originates from the Middle East and we have all made great strides in elevating the quality and value of broadcast news choices available to the Arab viewer. The challenge now is to foster debate, objectivity and openness in the most heavily scrutinised media environment in the world."