Nashwa Al Ruwaini participates as Arts & Culture Leader in U.S.-Islamic World Forum

Nashwa participated as an Arts and Culture Leader in a number of sessions including a cultural initiative workshop on leveraging the potential of the arts. Presenting alongside Nashwa were Benjamin Chavis, President and CEO of Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) from the United States, and Joshua Fouts, co-CEO and Chief Global Strategist of Dancing Ink Productions, also from the United States and Cynthia P. Schneider, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.

Nashwa focused her presentation on the advancements and improvements in arts and culture in Abu Dhabi and the Middle East. She outlined the government's long-term plan to build a necessary infrastructure to support the motion picture production industry and to promote and encourage Emirati filmmakers. The motion picture industry in the UAE and, more broadly, the Middle East, has taken a backseat to print media and TV production.

Nashwa emphasized the measures taken to improve the film industry and encourage filmmakers and directors in Abu Dhabi including bringing Warner Brothers Entertainment and Sony to the UAE in the hope that they "will result in more wholesome films about each other and raise awareness that our destinies are intertwined and peaceful co-existence will serve us all."

Turning to television programming, Nashwa discussed the Million's Poet and Prince of Poets which resurrected the Gulf Nabati poetry tradition. The shows enabled Arab youth to be re-engaged with their heritage and culture. High ratings of both shows prove that viewers want innovative programming that is local and fresh instead of Western.

Emphasizing the growing cultural vision in Abu Dhabi, Nashwa outlines the Masdar project that will bring to the Abu Dhabi the first green city, the Louvre, the Guggenheim, a performing arts centre and many more cultural projects as well as the Middle East International Film Festival which she heads. The festival first opened its doors on October 16, 2007 with films from more than 38 countries and a feature film from every Gulf country.

Nashwa has been involved in a number of initiatives related to the media with the aim of bridging the gap between the West and the Islamic world. Nashwa began her career in Qatar working for Qatar TV and has since moved on to present and produce a number of TV programs addressing issues in the Middle East and Islamic world. In addition to Nashwa's work on the Middle East International Film Festival and her production company Pyramedia, she also presents and produces her own talk show named 'Nashwa' which is aired weekly on Dubai TV and is the most popular television show of its kind in the region, addressing topical and often controversial issues facing the region. Nashwa's production company Pyramedia was also established a number of years ago to produce content that is culturally enlightening about the Middle East region in an effort to combat the negative images of this part of the world.

The 5th U.S.-Islamic World Forum was held February 16-18, 2008 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha, Qatar, and brought together key leaders in the fields of politics, business, media, academia, and civil society from 25 countries across the Muslim world and the United States. The forum has become the meeting-place for positive cross-cultural engagement between leaders from the United States and the Muslim world.

The forum hosted a number of speakers, whom are all experts in their fields, from around the world including, John Esposito, Georgetown University; Francis Fukuyama, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies; Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Madeleine Albright, Former US Secretary of State.