ID :
144324
Thu, 09/30/2010 - 15:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/144324
The shortlink copeid
Geneva celebrates the selection of the UAE as Guest of Honour at this year's Media Day
Geneva - Sept 30, 2010 (WAM)- The city of Geneva, Switzerland and the United Nations (UN) yesterday, at the Swiss Press Club, celebrated the selection of the UAE as Guest of Honour at this year's Media Day.
The function was graced by UAE Permanent Representative to United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Obaid Salem Al Za'abi, Executive Director of the Swiss Press Club Guy Mettan, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, Sergey Ordzhonikidze, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, Dante Martinelli, Mayor of Geneva City Sandrine Salerno, top Swiss government officials and a number representatives of regional and international human rights and media and civil society organisations.
GCC and Arab ambassadors in Geneva, Arab League representative and hundreds of media personalities and representatives were also present.
The UAE Minister of Labour and Chairman of the UAE National Media Council, Saqr Ghobash, expressed his gratitude for this selection by saying during his speech that this honouring of the UAE reflects the important advances that the UAE has made on several fronts, including in the fields of media and communication.
"I accept this honour on behalf of all my compatriots who have contributed to, and been responsible for the development of the media sector", Ghobash said.
"The UAE is proud to be the first Arab country to receive this honour. This is all the more true because of the great esteem and respect that we hold, not only for your organisation, but also for the Canton and City of Geneva as the recognised capital of international human rights and humanitarian law, and the site of the UN Human Rights Council and International Red Cross. We also are aware that the bestowment of such an honour carries with it a special responsibility that the UAE is fully prepared to accept", the Minister added.
Ghobash noted that the UAE media sector has in recent years witnessed a number of important developments, among them was the creation of the National Media Council (NMC), which is mandated to oversee the activities of media sector in accordance with advanced international standards and consistent with the requirements of the UAE's social and political development. The creation of the NMC is, thus, another milestone on the path of institution building in the UAE, of its socio-political development and the consolidation of its legislative and regulatory infrastructures.
He pointed out that one may get a sense of the mandate and responsibility of the NMC by considering UAE media landscape today which consists of no less than 15 television stations, 24 radio stations, 9 Arabic and 7 English dailies, tens of weekly publications and specialised periodicals, in addition to the UAE's national press agency WAM. Moreover, the UAE is host to 4 media free zones that house tens of media institutions and news outlets and regional and international radio and satellite stations. The Abu Dhabi Free Zone houses 85 media firms, while its Dubai counterpart, Dubai Media City, hosts 875 organisations from around the world. Hundreds of foreign reporters are accredited and operate in the UAE.
"It is on behalf of all of these media operators and officials that I join you in today's celebration, which I hope will mark the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between UAE media institutions and the Swiss Press Club and Swiss media operators in general. We look forward to a collaboration that includes an ongoing exchange of expertise and visits, and I take this opportunity to extend an invitation to Guy Mettan, Speaker of the Parliament, Canton of Geneva to visit us in the UAE at the earliest opportunity", he concluded.
On his part, Guy Mettan announced that the UAE was selected as Guest of Honour at this year's Media Day for being a pioneer model in the Arab world to expand the scope of media freedoms and the development of media institutions and media training.
He added that the UAE has been selected to serve as a gateway through which ''we will boost our bonds with the Arab World in all media, cultural, political and economic domains.
According to him, the UAE stands out as a model to be emulated in the Arab World in terms of informational and educational development, establishment of institutions, delivery of world-class services to media outlets and opening up to the foreign world driven by a wise policy of peaceful co-existence among cultures and civilisations.
The Mayor of Geneva City, Sandrine Salerno, welcomed the UAE delegation chaired by Saqr Ghobash and assured that the UAE deserves this honour for its commitment to developing and opening up the media sector besides its economic and political relations with Switzerland and the world.
Geneva's Cantonal President, Guest of Honour at this year's Media Day, Francois Longchamp, during his speech said that there are significant challenges nowadays due to the success of internet journalism, which affects the role of print media and influences the advertising market.
"We have to admit that there is a true crisis faced by newspapers in Europe and the United States due to the decline in advertising and distribution. This fact affects neutrality of newspapers and their freedom because of the economic crisis facing most of the major newspapers." He added.
He called for addressing and facing this reality with courage in order to continue media work neutrally, transparently and without submitting to financiers. He also stressed on the need to deal with extremism issues wisely, pointing out that the American pastor who had threatened to burn the Holy Quran wanted to be a champion, but at the expense of understanding and coexistence between world religions and cultures.
It should be mentioned that there are 154 countries represented in Geneva, which requires the media to deal positively with the dynamism of the city and not to neglect international organisations.
The function was graced by UAE Permanent Representative to United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Obaid Salem Al Za'abi, Executive Director of the Swiss Press Club Guy Mettan, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, Sergey Ordzhonikidze, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, Dante Martinelli, Mayor of Geneva City Sandrine Salerno, top Swiss government officials and a number representatives of regional and international human rights and media and civil society organisations.
GCC and Arab ambassadors in Geneva, Arab League representative and hundreds of media personalities and representatives were also present.
The UAE Minister of Labour and Chairman of the UAE National Media Council, Saqr Ghobash, expressed his gratitude for this selection by saying during his speech that this honouring of the UAE reflects the important advances that the UAE has made on several fronts, including in the fields of media and communication.
"I accept this honour on behalf of all my compatriots who have contributed to, and been responsible for the development of the media sector", Ghobash said.
"The UAE is proud to be the first Arab country to receive this honour. This is all the more true because of the great esteem and respect that we hold, not only for your organisation, but also for the Canton and City of Geneva as the recognised capital of international human rights and humanitarian law, and the site of the UN Human Rights Council and International Red Cross. We also are aware that the bestowment of such an honour carries with it a special responsibility that the UAE is fully prepared to accept", the Minister added.
Ghobash noted that the UAE media sector has in recent years witnessed a number of important developments, among them was the creation of the National Media Council (NMC), which is mandated to oversee the activities of media sector in accordance with advanced international standards and consistent with the requirements of the UAE's social and political development. The creation of the NMC is, thus, another milestone on the path of institution building in the UAE, of its socio-political development and the consolidation of its legislative and regulatory infrastructures.
He pointed out that one may get a sense of the mandate and responsibility of the NMC by considering UAE media landscape today which consists of no less than 15 television stations, 24 radio stations, 9 Arabic and 7 English dailies, tens of weekly publications and specialised periodicals, in addition to the UAE's national press agency WAM. Moreover, the UAE is host to 4 media free zones that house tens of media institutions and news outlets and regional and international radio and satellite stations. The Abu Dhabi Free Zone houses 85 media firms, while its Dubai counterpart, Dubai Media City, hosts 875 organisations from around the world. Hundreds of foreign reporters are accredited and operate in the UAE.
"It is on behalf of all of these media operators and officials that I join you in today's celebration, which I hope will mark the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between UAE media institutions and the Swiss Press Club and Swiss media operators in general. We look forward to a collaboration that includes an ongoing exchange of expertise and visits, and I take this opportunity to extend an invitation to Guy Mettan, Speaker of the Parliament, Canton of Geneva to visit us in the UAE at the earliest opportunity", he concluded.
On his part, Guy Mettan announced that the UAE was selected as Guest of Honour at this year's Media Day for being a pioneer model in the Arab world to expand the scope of media freedoms and the development of media institutions and media training.
He added that the UAE has been selected to serve as a gateway through which ''we will boost our bonds with the Arab World in all media, cultural, political and economic domains.
According to him, the UAE stands out as a model to be emulated in the Arab World in terms of informational and educational development, establishment of institutions, delivery of world-class services to media outlets and opening up to the foreign world driven by a wise policy of peaceful co-existence among cultures and civilisations.
The Mayor of Geneva City, Sandrine Salerno, welcomed the UAE delegation chaired by Saqr Ghobash and assured that the UAE deserves this honour for its commitment to developing and opening up the media sector besides its economic and political relations with Switzerland and the world.
Geneva's Cantonal President, Guest of Honour at this year's Media Day, Francois Longchamp, during his speech said that there are significant challenges nowadays due to the success of internet journalism, which affects the role of print media and influences the advertising market.
"We have to admit that there is a true crisis faced by newspapers in Europe and the United States due to the decline in advertising and distribution. This fact affects neutrality of newspapers and their freedom because of the economic crisis facing most of the major newspapers." He added.
He called for addressing and facing this reality with courage in order to continue media work neutrally, transparently and without submitting to financiers. He also stressed on the need to deal with extremism issues wisely, pointing out that the American pastor who had threatened to burn the Holy Quran wanted to be a champion, but at the expense of understanding and coexistence between world religions and cultures.
It should be mentioned that there are 154 countries represented in Geneva, which requires the media to deal positively with the dynamism of the city and not to neglect international organisations.
