Arab Media Summit 2003 fulfilled its aim of promoting better understanding

The grand finale was the Arab Journalism Awards where 12 journalists from various parts of the Arab world were honoured for their professional excellence over the past year.

Declaring the Arab Media Summit 2003 successful, Mohammed Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Dubai Development and Investment Authority and of the summit, said the forum was triumphant in reaching and surpassing its objective of promoting a better understanding of the Arab and Western perspective by each other.

'The high level of debate and discussion that took place over the two days; the response from the media which was so huge that we could not accommodate all; the level of interest and the soul-searching that took place; and the quality of people that we attracted - all go to prove the efficacy and need for a forum such as the Arab Media Summit,' Al Gergawi said.

He pointed to the fact that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder took time out of a very busy schedule to come to the Summit and provide the inaugural address. 'The German Chancellor's attendance speaks volumes about the importance with which the Arab Media Summit is being viewed in the world.

'It underlines, emphasizes and stresses the value of this forum which is now considered a must-attend event on the global media calendar,' Al Gergawi said.

The Arab Media Summit 2003 was inaugurated by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, who called for the empowerment of the Arab people.

'His Highness has led the way toward openness and accountability - a reflection of which was the freedom of speech and expression that was promoted and presented during the summit, Al Gergawi pointed out.

This was supported by the call for introspection and constructive self-criticism by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Information and Culture.

That the Arab Media Summit is an international event is also supported by the presence of such respected journalists such as Pulitzer Prize winner Peter Arnett and Tim Sebastian of the BBC, who would not attend unless they thought that the Summit could prove of some value and could be able to achieve its objective of promoting a better understanding between the West and the Arab worlds in a frank and open forum, he pointed out.

The more than 500 guests that attended included Editor-in-Chiefs, respected columnists, top media personalities from the Arab and the Western worlds as well as academicians and other influential opinion-moulding media persons from the print and broadcast media.

'We are extremely pleased with this year's Summit. We believe it has been highly successful in its task of brining together opinion-makers from the West and the Arab worlds, generated debate and understanding between the two and acceptance and respect for each other's point of view.

'Perceptions hardly get changed overnight. We know that the impact of the Summit will continue to be felt for a long time to come. And to ensure that we guide the process along, we have taken a deliberate decision to continue our efforts through follow-ups. The Arab Media Summit is not a one-off event. It is an annual exercise to bring together varying perspectives of the North American, European, Arab and Asian press.

'We had promised to do our best to better understanding between the West and the Arab world -and there is nothing that is going to sway us from this task,' Al Gergawi added.