Chairman of the Arab Media Excellence Award Committee and representative of Kuwait, Hamad Al-Badri, affirmed on Monday the committee’s keenness to encourage media materials and items that would enhance and support the joint Arab media work system. While chairing a meeting of the committee at the Arab League’s HQ, Al-Badri stated to KUNA that Kuwait’s presidency of the committee highlights the extent of its interest in raising media awareness among Arab audiences.

He noted that Kuwait, with its financial sponsorship of the award, confirms the necessity of honoring and supporting meaningful media production, whether readable, audible, or visual, especially directed at serving Arab issues and promoting joint Arab action. Al-Badri pointed out the categories for which the award is given, which are divided into ten categories, and expanded its scope this year to include “crisis, disaster, and risk media,” in line with the crises witnessed by the Arab region with the continued Zionist occupation aggression against the Gaza Strip and the deteriorating humanitarian conditions.

He explained that the number of works presented to the committee reached 100 in the various categories of the award, submitted by member states, and that the committee’s meetings on Monday and Tuesday will focus on examining these works and their compliance with the conditions of the award. The winners’ names would be announced during the 54th session of the Council of Arab Information Ministers, he noted, expressing his expectations that the award would contribute to presenting distinguished media pieces.

In addition to Kuwait, the committee includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, and Morocco. The General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Information Ministers launched the Arab Media Excellence Award in 2015 as part of celebrating Arab Media Day, which falls on April 21 of each year and is awarded annually.

Chairman of the Arab Media Excellence Award Committee, representative of the State of Kuwait, Hamad Al-Badri

Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Talal Al-Mutairi

‘Peace for all’

Meanwhile, the “Media and Information Literacy and Global Understanding: Peace for All” conference commenced Monday at the headquarters of the Arab League, with the attendance of the Secretary General of the League Ahmad Aboul Gheit and Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II. The Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport, in collaboration with the Social Affairs Sector and Culture and Dialogue of Civilizations Department at the League, and in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Media and Information Literacy Alliance and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, organized the conference.

This three-day conference aims to emphasize the crucial role of media and information culture in promoting global understanding and peace, shaping public awareness, and directing views towards peaceful coexistence issues, while also exploring the role of technology and information in achieving these goals. The conference explored how to use media as a tool to bring people together and enhance dialogue and cultural understanding.

The focus lies on the vital role of media literacy in fostering critical analysis skills and discerning between real and fake news, which are crucial for building peaceful and cohesive societies. The conference is expected to come up with practical recommendations for developing effective media strategies that support global peace and understanding. Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Talal Al-Mutairi, represented Kuwait at the conference.

KUNA