NEWS: Qatar unveils plans for two new film festivals

The Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced that it is expanding its festival format to include two new cinematic showcases: the Ajyal Film Festival for the Young and the Qumra Film Festival.

The Qumra Film Festival, to be held over eight days in March 2014, will focus on first and second time filmmakers – of both short and feature length films.

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CHILD RIGHTS: HRC targets homes, schools to reinforce children’s rights

JEDDAH — The Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Makkah region will start a campaign against child abuse in the Kingdom soon.

The campaign will target homes and schools, said Ebrahim Al-Nehayani from HRC's Makkah region branch.

Al-Nehayani was speaking on the sideline of a two-day seminar on children's' rights at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saturday.

full article on the Saudi Gazette website

NEWS: Dubai Press Club To Spotlight Talent Of Emirati Youth In The Arts And Technology At 11th Arab Media Forum,Forum to Host over 60 Volunteers from Universities and Colleges

Dubai , UAE - April 25, 2012: Dubai Press Club (DPC), organisers of the Arab Media Forum (AMF), today announced the eleventh edition of the event will highlight the talent of Emirati youth at a special segment that showcases their skills in photography, mobile applications, utilizing technology to protect the environment, music, painting, graphic design and landscaping to an elite audience of regional and global media thought leaders.

Through its special focus on the Emirati youth, Dubai Press Club takes forward a core mandate to build the capacity of young UAE nationals and prepare a generation of competent media professionals across a variety of disciplines.

The initiative is the outcome of Dubai Press Club’s partnership with ‘Think Up’, a virtual social hub. Launched in 2011, Think Up is a Dubai-based entity that inspires and encourages the youth in the UAE and across the GCC to express their creativity. The organisation is committed to recognising talented individuals and positioning them as role models for the youth.

As part of its association with DPC, Think Up will additionally deploy a skilled team at the Arab Media Forum to run digital platforms during the event. Consequently, the sessions at AMF 2012 will be streamed through new media channels including the internet, mobile phones, and portable devices.

Arab Media Forum 2012 will run from 8-9 May at the Grand Hyatt in Dubai. Themed “Arab Media, Disclosure and Transition”, the event is set to bring together a galaxy ofintellectual thought-leaders, researchers, academics and media students.

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EVENTS: 4th Arab Youth Media Forum to Start on Tuesday

Manama-Feb 26-(BNA) The 4th Arab Youth Media Forum will open in Bahrain on Tuesday, under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.
The two-day pan-Arab event marks the celebration of Bahrain as Capital of Arab Press 2012.

Arab officials, diplomats and media figures will attend the official opening during which winners of the 2011 awards will be honoured.

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EVENTS / FESTIVALS: Roger Moore to attend Muscat film festival

MUSCAT — Next month's Muscat International Film Festival (MIFF) has received a shot in the arm with the announcement that Sir Roger Moore, the legendary former James Bond star, will be visiting the city during the festival.
"It is a dream come true for us and it will be an honour to host this great Bond figure in Oman," Dr Khalid Al Zadjali, Chairman of the Oman Film Society (OFS) and MIFF, said, adding: "Sir Roger is not just a famous star, he is a man with a golden heart — as he is also a goodwill ambassador of the Unicef."

The 7^th MIFF, from March 24 to 31, the biggest so far, has attracted participation from more than 90 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Japan, China, India, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Egypt and Iran.

Moore, who portrayed British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985 and voted 'Best Bond' in the Academy Awards poll in 2008, will be honoured at the closing ceremony of the festival on March 31, coinciding with international celebrations of 007's 50^th anniversary.

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NEWS: Youth presents recommendations to world leaders at UN forum

By Kabeer Yousuf - DOHA — At the Fourth Forum of the Alliance of Civilisations in Doha, Qatar, a diverse group of 400 young leaders met yesterday to debate key aspects of cross-cultural and inter-religious understanding during the Youth Preparatory Event, which took place at the newly inaugurated Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC).

Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed al Salmy, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, is heading the country at the Forum. The main outcome of the discussions during the youth event was the drafting of recommendations to world leaders on specific policies that affect the lives of young people, and on ways to enhance and build on the achievement of young people in bridging cultural divides.

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NEWS / REPORTS / STUDIES: Arab Social Media Report released by Dubai School of Government

Dubai-UAE: 07 February, 2011- According to the inaugural Arab Social Media Report (ASMR), social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will continue to play a critical role in organizing social and civil movements in the Arab world, especially among the youth.

A team of researchers at the Governance and Innovation Program in Dubai School of Government has been monitoring the growth and usage trends of such tools in the Arab World in 2010. According to the Report, the penetration of social networking tools is soaring in the Arab world. The growth is highest among youth between the ages of 15 and 29, who make up around one-third of the total Arab population. The report states for example, that the total number of Facebook users in the Arab world has increased by 78 per cent, from 11.9 million in January 2010 to 21.3 million by December 2010, with 75 percent of the Facebook community in the Arab region belonging to this demographic and driving its growth.

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NEWS: Arab media urged to focus on youth related issues

The need to focus on youth related issues and to reflect their hopes and aspirations in the Arab satellite channels was highlighted by several participants at a four-day seminar that concluded in Doha yesterday.
The final communiqué issued after the Arab Media for the Youth conference called for among other things: setting up of a ministry for youth affairs in every Arab country; a charter of principles and programmes for implementation; to make the media an effective tool in guiding the youth; and to have a balanced approach towards sports and non-sports activities. It also called for presenting plausible alternatives to the current negative image about the Arab youth in all the media channels, according to reports published in the local Arabic press.

“It is unfortunate that the sports clubs in the Arab World pay very little attention to cultural matters,” said the director of youth affairs department Khalid al-Mulla in his presidential remarks. It is imperative he said that equal attention should be paid to the mind and the body in order to nurture a generation of well rounded youth.

“The media has a vital role to play in instilling the right ideas and concepts in the young minds” said Ms. Samar Kaldani, the director of the “al-Hasan Youth Award” of Jordan. The Arab media must address the problems, hopes and aspirations of the youth. And the academic curriculum for all levels of education should also project these goals, she said.

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EVENTS: Student film festival to be hosted in Qatar

High school students in Doha, Qatar with an interest in filmmaking can send submissions on sustainable development, human rights or the environment to a film festival.

The festival, with the stated aim of "creating a platform for student film-making talent and artistic vision," will be hosted by Qatar Model United Nations in collaboration with Northwestern University in Qatar in March 2011.

Every submission is required to include a completed entry form and a poster to promote the film. Prizes will be awarded for cinematography, editing, picture, story and sound. The Best Picture winner will receive QR10,000 while other winners will receive prizes and trophies.

For more information, click here.

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NEWS / AWARDS: Syrian Educational Channel Wins 2 Gold Awards in Cairo Arab Media Festival

Cairo, (SANA)- Syrian Educational Satellite Channel has won two gold awards at 16th Cairo Arab Media Festival for the documentary "Hanania" and short film "Plant…Don't Cut Down". Sixteen Arab countries participated in the Cairo-based Festival.

Last October, the Channel won one gold and two bronze awards at the Jordan Arab Media Festival in the category of children's programs and drama production. 350 works from most Arab countries about children show production and children drama production participated.

The Syrian Educational satellite channel won during its demo broadcast a silver award at the fifteenth Cairo Arab Media Festival and a silver award at the eleventh Gulf Festival in Bahrain.

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NEWS / EVENT: Arab world in great need for balanced, objective media

KUWAIT: Kuwait's first Youth Media Forum opened yesterday at Kuwait University's main campus. The event is taking place under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who was represented at yesterday's opening ceremony by the minister of oil and of information, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah. A number of prominent dignitaries also attended the opening event, including education minister Dr. Moudhi Al Humoud and several media figures.

In his inaugural speech delivered on HH the Amir's behalf, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah said that the forum attains special importance through its efforts to familiarize them with the ever-changing scientific and professional realities of the present day. He stressed that this puts a great responsibility on the authorities to ensure that younger generations will be encouraged to keep these issues in the forefront of their minds both in the short and long term.

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NEWS: Arab Youth Criticize Government Media as it Doesn't Meet their Ambitions

SUNA A symposium titled "Young People in the Means of Mass Media" was held in Al-Fatih Tower yesterday as part of the activities conducted by the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) in Khartoum these days.

The symposium attended by the chairperson of USBU in addition to the members of ASBU. The symposium affirmed that governmental TV channels in addition to other means of mass media sponsored by governments failed to meet young people's ambitions in the Arabic World.

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OPPORTUNITIES: Arab journalists can submit works on children's rights

Posted on: 04/08/2010 Children Deadline: 20/08/2010 Region: Middle East and North Africa

Arab journalists and photojournalists in the Middle East and North Africa can submit works to a UNICEF award on child's rights. Deadline to apply is August 20.

The competition is open to journalists working in print, broadcast and online journalism and photojournalism. Submitted work must be in English, Arabic or French.

The winners will be announced in November.

For more information, contact Reem Najjar at rnajjar@unicef.org

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OPPORTUNITIES: Production grants available for young Arab documentary filmmakers

Posted on: 25/06/2010 Documentaries Deadline: 30/06/2010 Region: Middle East and North Africa

Young documentary filmmakers from across the Arab world are invited to apply for production grants from BBC Arabic. Deadline to apply: June 30.

Interested applicants must submit information on their film's subject, how they will produce the film, the location and budget, and a summary of the filmmaker and his/her experience. Films must be related to everyday life in Arab societies.

Winning films will be broadcast on BBC Arabic TV.

To apply, submit an application to unsaid@bbc.co.uk. For more information, click here.

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NEWS: Arab media workers call for more youth programming

By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 16/06/10

[Mona Yahia] Arab media should provide more youth programming like "Stade 7", a popular sports broadcast, participants said.

The Arab world's private satellite channels do not offer programming that serves the interests of young people, said participants at a Tuesday (June 15th) conference held by the Tunis-based Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU).

About 700 satellite television channels broadcast programmes in the Arab world, with topics ranging from religion and art to politics and astrology.

"Where are the youth issues in this huge number of channels?" ASBU director-general Slaheddine Maaoui asked at the Tunis event, which tackled how state media can attract young people, the role of government channels and the need to involve youth in media production.

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ARTICLES: ‘Arab youth no different from others when handling e-media’

'Arab youth no different from others when handling e-media'

KUWAIT CITY, March 4: The Arab youth is no different from youth anywhere else in the world when it comes to engaging in the electronic media, according to Dr Adel Iskandar, a Canadian scholar on Middle East media who is in Kuwait as part of a 10-nation tour of Arab countries. Dr Iskandar was delivering a lecture on 'Youth Media in the Arab World' Tuesday to students and guests at the American University of Kuwait on the second day of a 3-day speaking engagement under the auspices of the Canadian Embassy in Kuwait. Youth media, according to Dr Iskandar who also delivered a talk on 'Intercultural communication between the West and the Arab world' Monday at the Aware Center in Surra, is, in his words "a broad brush stroke definition — an overarching term he says, that covers a huge territory; and that one can look at some aspect of blogging as a subset in the area of youth media production.

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EVENTS: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), sponsors the second Arab Media Forum for youth

Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), sponsors the second Arab Media Forum for youth on February 26, also sponsored by Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Amr Moussa.

Secretary-General of the Arab Media Forum Madhi Al-Khamees told reporters, Monday, KFAED constantly supports youth to direct them on the right path in terms of career, awareness, and culture. The fund plays a major role in supporting developmental efforts, alleviating the suffering of Third World countries, and establishing the basis of a modern life for societies in the Arab World, Al-Khamees added. The fund is also keen on supporting forums and cultural events that contribute to whetting youth talent, he noted. The youth forum is coordinated by the Media College of Cairo University, and over 4,000 students in different specializations will take part The venue aims at preparing the future work force with capabilities to meet the goals included in the development agenda, he said.

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