DUBAI, 7 October 2003 — Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Minister of Defense Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum will inaugurate the two-day Arab Media Summit 2003 today.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will be the guest of honor and will deliver the inaugural address. Chris Cramer, managing director CNN International, and Sheikh Abdullah ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan, UAE minister of information and culture and chairman of Emirates Media Inc., will deliver keynote addresses.
More than 500 of the world’s leading journalists and media personalities are expected at the summit. A number of leading Arab and international media representatives, diplomats, academics and government representatives will also attend the ceremony.
“We’re pleased that we’ll have an international personality of such stature for this year’s summit. The German chancellor is well known for his views on world affairs and his inaugural address assumes critical importance as he is the leader of one of the most important industrialized countries of the world, one that plays a pivotal role in forming the policies of the European Union and the world,” said Mohammed Al-Gergawi, chairman of the Arab Media Summit Organizing Committee.
“We’re also delighted to be able to have such an illustrious gathering of our Arab and Western media colleagues as guests and to host an event of such importance to the Arab media.
“Frank and informed Western viewpoints will make an important contribution to expanding understanding and opening new channels of communication and cooperation between the Arabic media and the West,” he added.
The summit, launched in 2001 at the direction of Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum, offers an opportunity for dialogue between Arab media personalities and their counterparts in the Western world, according to Al-Gergawi.
The first day of the summit will be devoted to sessions on the role of the media.
Nic Robertson, CNN’s senior international correspondent, will moderate the debate between the speakers and delegates on the subject of “Complicity? Responsibility? Liability? The Role of Journalists in Modern War.”
The Western pair on the panel are Tim Sebastian, well-known for his BBC World “Hard Talk,” and Robert Menard, chief executive of Reporters Sans Frontieres. Arab representatives will be Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Al-Maeena and Dream TV presenter Hamdi Kandil.
