A forum on media and digital communications will be held in Riyadh in September under the patronage of Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammed Jameel Mulla.

The forum, which will take place Sept. 9-12, will focus on the new media and its role in communications and marketing through the Internet and mobile phones in light of its rapid growth.

The ministry’s patronage of this event comes within the framework of its plans to support initiatives and events that will hopefully promote how public and private sector companies are handling IT, according to ministry officials.

The forum has been designed to act as an interactive platform for ideas and initiatives in the area of digital media to give momentum to this rapidly growing sector, forum supervisor Ammar Bakkar said.

Data shows that the digital media has shifted into a huge industry and become a thematic issue in youth initiatives, he pointed out.

The forum will explore eight major areas including e-journalism, e-transactions, video gaming, e-commerce, the Internet in the Arab world, social media, mobile phones and digital initiatives.