Members of the media, with video cameras, await the start of an address by former South African President Jacob Zuma in Sandton, Johannesburg, 22 October 2022. In his address Zuma slammed Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of corruption and claims that his administration had brought an end to loadshedding. Picture: Michel Bega
More than 1 600 media representatives attended the opening of the Global Media Congress (GMC) in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Hosted by WAM, the Emirates News Agency, the three-day event is exploring global trends in media, creating a platform for media professionals from all over the world to network and provide workshops to understand and share new media techniques.
Opening the conference on behalf of GMC patron and United Arab Emirates (UAE) deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyon, WAM director General Mohammed Al Rayssi said the UAE hoped this event would contribute to development of the media across the world.
It showed the importance that the Gulf state placed on a sustainable and free media, he added. UAE Minister of State for Youth Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui said media had a responsibility to turn away from clickbait and focus on public interest – especially to be sustainable.
“I hear when I speak to editors, journalists and media owners that this is what the audience wants, but is it? “Or have you conditioned them to be like that with decades of the same content?
“The young people were asked, what is it you want and it wasn’t Metaverse, AI [artificial intelligence] or Tiktokification, it was to be entertained, to be intellectually challenged, to learn new skills and find meaning.
“They don’t want an algorithm that confirms what they know when the world is going through famine, floods and fire.”
Al Rayssi said there was a gap in media discussions about reshaping the industry and the UAE had seized this opportunity to act as a hub between east and west, north and south to establish an annual platform where media experts, inventors, developers, futurists and practitioners could meet to plan the future, network and exchange knowledge.
The three-day event attracted exhibitors from all over the world; media houses from Russia, China, India and Latin America as well as all of the Gulf States.
There are media producers too from Saudi Arabia’s Neom smart city on the Red Sea, the Al Ain international film festival, public relations companies and new media academies.
And the Abu Dhabi police force is showcasing how it uses technology for virtual training, law enforcement and surveillance to create a safe city.
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