Arab League meetings to tackle media role in confronting extremism

AMMAN — The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States’ Media and Communication Sector Tuesday started three days of meetings during which participants will discuss the role of the media in confronting extremism and terrorism. اضافة اعلان

Organized under the auspices of Minister of State for Media Affairs Faisal Al-Shboul, the event brings together the Administration of the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Information Ministers and the Arab Commission for Satellite Broadcasting.

Addressing the attendees, Shboul stressed the importance of Arab efforts, coordination and cooperation in facing the issues and challenges that have recently arisen in the media and communication sector, in order to protect the media and Arab societies from the danger of terrorism.



He said that Jordan is fighting terrorism by striving to change the mindset of the youth through changes in school curricula and developing the youths’ intellectual capacity.

The greatest danger comes from the use of social media to spread false news and rumors, he said.

Shboul also stressed that media freedom is guaranteed and a right for all media professionals, provided they work professionally and ethically, without resorting to defamation and insults.

Media and communication technology have become accessible to most everyone, the minister said, urging the participating delegations to address ethical and legal controls and regulations, at Arab level.

Assistant secretary-general and head of the media and communication sector at the Arab League, Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, thanked Jordan and Shboul for hosting “these important meetings”, which, “through the diversity and comprehensiveness of their multidimensional issues”, should help “member states, with the active participation of organizations and unions involved in the media under the umbrella of the Arab League, to come up with practical and creative recommendations to enrich the Arab media system, and push collective efforts aimed at modernizing the joint Arab media strategy to combat terrorism and at tightening the implementation mechanisms”.

Khattabi urged a close look at the Jordanian experience in the field of media education, “based on ... promoting sound media and professional concepts, qualifying the younger generations, and immunizing them against extremist tendencies and behaviors”.



The meetings, which will end on Thursday, are slated to discuss three issues. One is the role of the Arab media in confronting extremism and terrorism, another the effects of electronic media and electronic games on societies and generations, and third, the dangers electronic media and games pose to children and young adults.

Jordan’s hosting of these meetings comes within the framework of supporting Arab efforts aimed at addressing important common media issues as part of broader efforts to advance the process of joint Arab action.

Representatives from various Arab countries, a number of officials in the media and communication sector from the Arab League, and representatives of Arab federations and bodies concerned with media and communication affairs take part in the event.


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