The Arab Thought Foundations' fourth annual conference discusses Arab and World Media Issues

Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Thought Foundation and the Head of Organizing Committee, said that 'The Foundation is unique because of its approach in ensuring open-minded discussion as a vital element to encouraging interaction and exchange. This is why the Arab and World Media Conference will be an opportunity for media professionals to enrich their knowledge and will enable them to interact with other professionals in the media field from all parts of the region and the world.'

He added, 'We chose 'Arab and World Media' for the title of Arab Thought Foundation's conference due to our belief in the great significance that media has gained and established for itself today, and its place on every state's priority list in dealing with internal and external issues. This is because media has an instant and profound effect on political, economic and social variables that the region and the world has witnessed over the past years.'

Prince Bandar bin Khalid also confirmed that the conference's main objective is to enhance interaction between Arab and international media organizations and bridge the gap between them, in order to make uncovering the truth the only priority for them. He added that this is the main reason the Arab and World Media Conference adopted its current theme, 'Getting it Right'.

Dubai Press Club's Chairperson Mona Al Marri said, 'The Arab and World Media conference has a prominent list of speakers; it comprises the most important and renowned personalities from the political, economic and media fields from all parts of the world. This is an element that makes the conference a unique open stage for Arab-Western dialogue, enabling all participants to get to know each other and hold constructive discussions on a wide range of issues, which would in turn enhance relations between all the parties present, benefiting each one of the participants.'

She stated that, to complement this goal, the conference's organizing committee pays deliberate attention to invite prominent Arab and international personalities in the media field alongside economic and political figures.

The list of speakers also comprises an international caliber of media personalities such as: The Wall Street Journal's publisher, Karen E House; Times Magazine Editor-in-Chief Jim Kelly; The German paper Der Spiegel's Editor-in-Chief Stefan Aust; CBS News Correspondent Ed Bradley; Bloomberg News' Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler; and the international writer-journalist Danny Schechter. Also: Joshua Landis, an assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma, USA; Ma Xiaolin, Editor-in-Chief and CEO at ChinaBBS.com; Pat Mitchell, President and CEO at Public Broadcasting Services; John Clippinger from Harvard Law School, USA; and Dawn Meyerriecks, Vice President at AOL Online Inc.

The international speakers also included: Thomas D. Gardner, President of the International publication of The Reader's Digest and Senior Vice President at the Association; Geoffrey Cowan, Dean at USC Annenberg School; Antoine de Tarle, Managing Director at Ouest-France; Gordon Robison, Director of the Middle East Media Project at USC Center on Public Diplomacy; John Gage, Chief Researcher and Science Office Director and CTO at Sun Microsystems; Paul Salem, Director of Fares Foundation; Nik Gowing, World Presenter for BBC; Barbara Slavin, Senior Diplomatic Reporter at USA TODAY; David Ignatius, Associate Editor and Columnist at The Washington Post; Ji Yuanhong, Editor-in-Chief of the Technology Frontier at China Youth Daily; Xiong Lei, Managing Editor of China Features at Xinhua News Agency; Yoichi Kato, National Security Correspondent for The Asahi Shimbun; Yang Rui, Host and Executive Producer of Dialogue at the English Channel CCTV 9; and Jan Zijderveld, Unilever Middle East's Chairman.

Among the speakers during the conference will also be several prominent Arab media figures, namely: H.R.H. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Entrepeneur and Investor; Al Arabiya Channel's General Manager Abdul Rahman Al Rashed, Arab News' Editor-in-Chief Khaled Al Maeena, and the renowned Arab writer-journalists, Jamal Khashqagi and Ayman Abdel Nour. Also: Rami Khouri, Daily Star's Editor-in-Chief; Daoud Kuttab, Founder of AmmanNet; Muna AbuSulayman, Executive Manager at Kingdom Holding Company; Hisham Melhem, Annahar's correspondent in Washington, USA; and the Syrian political analyst and author, Sami Moubayed.

The Arab figures speaking at this event also include: Amr Moussa, Secretary General of League of Arab States; Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of Orascom; Ibrahim Hamidi, Bureau Chief at Al-Hayat Newspaper; Saad Hariri, Member of Parliament in Lebanon; Zafar Siddiqi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at CNBC Arabiya; Jamal Khashoggi, Former Editor at the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Watan; and S. Abdallah Schleifer, Editor at Transnational Broadcasting Studies.