Sheikh Mohammed to open Arab Media Summit 2003 today

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroedar has accepted the invitation to attend this year's Arab Media Summit, which will be attended by the world's top journalists and media personalities. Schroedar will be the Guest of Honour and will deliver the inaugural address, according to Mohammed Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Arab Media Summit Organizing Committee.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Chris Cramer, Managing Director, CNN International and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Information and Culture and Chairman of Emirates Media Inc.

Mohammed Al Gergawi said, "We are truly pleased that we will have an international personality of such strature to add to this year's Arab Media Summit. The German Chancellor is well-known for his views on world affairs and the inaugural address by him assumes critical importance as he is the leader of one of the most important industrialized countries of the world that plays a pivotal role in forming the policies of the European Union and the world."

"We are also delighted to be able to have such an illustrious gathering of our Arab and Western media colleagues as guests and to be able to host an event of such importance to Arab media and its future communication with the world. Informed and open Western viewpoints will make an important contribution to expanding understanding and opening new channels of communication and cooperation between Arabic media and the West." Al Gergawi added.

"The Summit which was launched in 2001 under the directives of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, offers an opportunity for dialogue between Arab media personalities and their counterparts in the Western world - which I hope would continue and be beneficial to all."

He said that the Organizing Committee is committed to choosing themes that are relevant even if they are controversial. "The theme of the Summit this year is "War and The Media", and deals with the media coverage during war, where perspectives of Western and Arabic media differ, especially when it concerns wars that took place in the region. Discussing such issues will direct all arguments in the summit towards the Arab and the Western opinion of each other, it will also address the issue of the objectivity of the media and its role in forming the public opinion, or even misleading it by publicizing biased opinions"

Since its launch in 2001, the Arab Media Summit has become the biggest media event in the Middle East, whether it is because of the number of participants and the audience it attracts or extensive media coverage of the issues that it handles. The summit has evoked a great deal of interest also because of topics it tackles. For example, last year's summit which focused on the way International media views the Arab world and its issues, was attended by nearly a 1000 delegates and succeeded in attracting attention from different Arab and international media organizations.

Al Gergawi said, "We are pleased by the regional and international interest in the Arab Media Summit, and we are looking forward to this Summit which will contribute and add to the accomplishments of the last two years." He also pointed out that holding an event of such importance in the media field in Dubai, compliments the growing position of the UAE as an important center of the Media Industry, as it hosts the regional offices of leading media organization including television channels, radios, newspapers & magazines and news agencies."

The first day of the Arab Media Summit will be devoted to sessions on the role of media and will be rounded off with Bilateral Meetings with leading world media personalities.

Senior International Correspondent, CNN, Nic Robertson will moderate the debate between the speakers and delegates on the subject of 'Complicity? Responsibility? Liability? The Role of Journalists in Modern War'.

The eminent panel of speakers will feature personalities such as Tim Sebastian who has made a global impact with his 'HARDtalk' on BBC World. Sebastian, along with Robert Menard, Chief Executive of Reporters Sans Frontiers, will represent the Western thought.

Arab representatives on the panel will include Khaled Al Maena, Editor-in-Chief of Saudi Arabia's Arab News Group and Egyptian writer and Dream TV presenter Hamdi Kandil.

The second session on the opening day will discuss the concept of 'Media: The Ultimate Weapon of Mass Destruction'. Gavin Esler of BBC, one of the globe's most respected media institutions, will moderate the session on the power and might of media to mould global public opinion and to influence mass thought.

He will be joined on the panel by writer Dr. Azmi Bishara, Director, Writer and TV Presenter Danny Schecter, French war correspondent and political thinker Paul-Marie de La Gorce and Mohammed Al Sayed Said of Al Ahram Newsapaper.

The two sessions will be followed by the Bilateral Meetings which are roundtable discussions involving about 20 people. Roundtable discussions on 7th October, will focus on Arab women in the Media, Journalists being a target in hostile environments, Accountability of the media in the Arab world, and Journalists under occupation.

More than 500 of the world's leading journalists are expected to attend the Arab Media Summit 2003.

In keeping with the objective of the Arab Media Summit - which is to open channels for dialogue between the Arab and Western media so as to promote a better understanding of each other - the second day has been devoted to discussing the recent Iraq War to define the Western and Arab media approaches and to see whether they were different or similar.

The discussions on the final day will be held under the overall theme of 'Iraq as a Case Study' with the first session moderated by Tim Sebastian discussing the Western Media Coverage of the recent conflict.

Legendary Pulitzer Prize winning war correspondent Peter Arnett, Senior Foreign Correspondent of The Times Janine di Giovanni, BBC Correspondent Clive Myrie and Jihad Al Khazen of Al Hayat Newspaper, will join Sebastian on the panel.

George Samaan, Editor-in-Chief of Al Hayat Newspaper, will lead discussions on the Arab Media Coverage of Iraq.

He will be joined on the panel by Abdul Bari Atwan, Editor-in-Chief of Al Quds Al Arabi; Ahmed Al Rabae, Columnist, Al Sharq Al Awsat; Jaber Obaid, Presenter at Abu Dhabi TV, which made a mark with several exclusives during the Iraq crisis; and Yousef Ibrahim, Former Correspondent with New York Times.

This will be the session, which is designed to bring together influential media leaders from both the Arab and the Western worlds in an effort to promote better understanding and acceptance of each other's views, leading ultimately to better understanding between the peoples of the West and the Arab world.

The last session is under the theme of Media Focus: Does the West still see the Arab world through a distorted eye? Does Arab media still view Western media with disappointment and mistrust? How far apart are the two viewpoints? How can they be reconciled?

This session will bring together on the panel leading personalities such as Martin Woollacott, The Guardian Columnist; Jim Laurie, Head of News at Star TV Asia; Jamil Mroue, Editor-in-Chief of Lebanon's Daily Star; and Dr. Hisham Sharabi, Professor with the Georgetown University, Washington. It will be moderated by Othman Al Umair, Editor-in-Chief of Elaf Electronic Newspaper.

This session will be followed by roundtable discussions on Effect of Freedom of Information Act in the US on the credibility of the US media, The Western & Arabic TV Talk Shows: differences and similarities, Current & future challenges faced by Arabic satellite channels, and Role of private sector in Arabic media.

The Arab Media Summit grand finale will be the Arab Journalism Awards ceremony that will be held at a gala dinner and which will honour excellence in Arab journalism.

The Arab Media Summit 2003 is being sponsored by: BBC World, Al Hayat Newspaper, Abu Dhabi TV, Khaleej Times Newspaper, Emirates airline, Dubai Media City and Al Khaleej Newspaper.