Fifth Annual Al Jazeera Forum to focus on 'The Arab and Muslim World: Alternative Visions'

The events on 23 May will begin with a keynote address from Robert Fisk, Author and Correspondent for The Independent newspaper. Mr. Fisk's address will focus on the relationship between power and the media. The sessions on the opening day will include panel discussions on "Turkey: Emerging Regional Power Player", "Engaging the Resistance: Choice or Necessity", "Iran in the Crossfire", and "Iraq in Transition".

The next day's morning keynote address, titled "Talking to the Enemy: The South African Experience", will be given by Thabo Mbeki, Former President of South Africa. The day's sessions will include panel discussions on "The Future of Palestine", "Dialogue with the Taliban: The Af-Pak Conflict in Context", and "The Horn of Africa: Contending Approaches". Dr. Iyad Allawi will give the afternoon keynote address, and the day will conclude with a session titled, "The Arab and Muslim World: The Next Decade".

"Al Jazeera is pleased to welcome a broad range of international speakers and delegates to participate in our Fifth Annual Forum," said Wadah Khanfar, Director General of the Al Jazeera Network. "Our Forum gives us the opportunity to bring together diverse voices to discuss and debate the difficult and pressing issues that affect our lives and how journalists and media can better understand these issues in depth. We believe the Forum will provide both panelists and attendees the opportunity to have detailed conversations on the contentious issues in the region and beyond."

Among the panelists participating in the Forum are Ibrahim Kalin, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Steve Clemons, Director, American Strategy Program, the New America Foundation, Azmi Beshara, author and political thinker, Osama Hamdan, Hamas Spokesperson, Hamid Gul, former head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency, Robert Baer, author and intelligence columnist for TIME, Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, Former Taliban Foreign Minister, and Fahmy Howeidy, Author, and Columnist El-Shorouk Newspaper.

Additionally, as part of the Forum, there will be two seminars on 22 May. The first, titled "Unplugged", will feature a series of discussions that focus on the state of the media and the role new media and online information sites will play in the future of the industry. Speeches will focus on "The Future of Media" and "Harnessing the Power of The Real-Time Web", and there will be a panel discussion titled "Getting Heard Online".

The second seminar, presented by the Al Jazeera Public Liberties and Human Rights desk, is titled "Media Freedom Between the Exercise of Rights and Responsibility." The symposium will examine how to achieve best practice in the freedom of information, specifically in international agreements on human rights and in national constitutions.