Information Minister participates in scientific salon

Manama, Apr. 8 (BNA): Information Minister Ali bin Mohammed Al Romaihi, the Board of Trustees Chairman of Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD), has affirmed the dire need of the media and telecommunications sector for the efforts of research centres and scientific institutions to manage the media establishments effectively. He pointed out that media anarchy sweeping the region and the world has affected the media's pivotal and influential role. The Information Minister was speaking as he participated in a scientific salon held under the theme "Institutional Media: the Social and Economic Dimensions", which was organised by the Arabian Gulf University (AGU)'s College of High Studies. The event was also attended by Director of the International Peace Institute, Middle East and North Africa (IPI,MENA) Nejib Friji, academics, researchers and interested people in the media and telecommunications field. Al Romaihi pointed out attempts by some institutions and parties to influence the public opinion mainly in the social media networks by inciting sedition, spreading fallacies, driving wedges in societies and tampering with the states' security and stability. This, he added, has to be confronted with the truth and commitment to professional criteria which have always been a main regulator of the media work throughout history. The Information Minister stressed that the media and telecommunications sector has the responsibility of raising awareness of the communities. He added that the Information Ministry has adopted many strategies to promote the media role in disclosing news and education professionally and competently as well as shedding light on the success stories in the Bahraini society. He also noted that raising awareness is a joint responsibility between all members of the community. The Information Minister called on research centres and institutions in the region to cooperate with the media establishments by studying the current situation of this vital sector and mapping out the needed plans to reach goals, shape a balanced public opinion that adopts a moderate and all-inclusive discourse and draw up a better future.