The Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, Dr. Sultan Abu Orabi Al Adwan, stressed the vital role of the media as a double edged sword, calling on the press and media to deal with the events professionally and with social responsibility.
He highlighted the success of the Arab media in communicating information and effecting change, specifically in the aftermath of the so-called Arab Spring.
Dr. Abu Orabi discussed during the “Future of the Arab Media in View of Modern Changes” workshop, organized by the Arab Media Faculties Association in cooperation with the Association of Arab Universities and the Arab Higher Studies Council at Cairo University, the challenges facing the future of the media. These include legislation restricting public freedoms, the flexibility of political systems and their acceptance of all options, and limited financial support. He called for the establishment of specialized media outlets in response to Arab issues.
On her part, Dean of the Media Faculty at the Cairo University Dr. Jihan Yusri welcomed the participation of Dr. Abu Orabi in the workshop. She stressed that the workshop aimed to develop the educational and training process, to produce media professionals capable of dealing with modern changes, in addition to exchanging experiences among media professors and professionals to identify the actual needs of training media students in the Arab World.
The workshop was attended by media experts at journalism, radio and television institutions from Iraq, Palestine, the Emirates, Jordan, and Egypt. It is also noteworthy that the recommendations of the workshop will be published soon.