ictQATAR hosts 'Media Connected: an ICT forum for journalists'

The forum, which will take place at the Sharq Village & Spa on Saturday, January 17 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., will bring together leading journalists and new media experts from the region and around the world. ictQATAR is encouraging journalists, bloggers, public relations and communications professionals, and students pursuing careers in journalism or communications to attend.

"There is a digital revolution taking place around the world and information and communication technologies are driving it. This revolution is changing the very way we communicate in our daily lives and it is having a tremendous impact on the people whose job it is to bring us news - journalists. Media Connected will start an important conversation on these topics and help ensure that journalists and communicators in Qatar are leading the way when it comes to embracing the benefits of technology,"

said Howaida Nadim, ictQATAR's Communications Director.

Speaking at the event will be Tom Standage, Business Editor at The Economist and Leonard Brody, Co-Founder and CEO of NowPublic, a rapidly growing media company based on citizen-generated news. Standage will address ways reporters can better cover technology and its impact on society, and the trends he sees emerging. Brody will share how his company is using technology to bring news to wide audiences and the impact he believes technology will have on the journalism field.

Following the keynote speakers, Richard Roth, Senior Associate Dean for Journalism at Northwestern University in Qatar will moderate a panel discussion addressing the impact of new media - blogs, citizen journalism, social networking, etc. - on the field of journalism. Participating in the panel will be Jawad Abassi, Founder and General Manager of Arab Advisors; Mohamed Nanabhay, Head of New Media at Al Jazeera Network; and Ahmed Ashour, Co-Founder of Al-Jazeera Talk.

Northwestern University Qatar, Al-Arab Newspaper and Al-Jazeera Talk are supporting sponsors of Media Connected.