His
Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the
Board of the National Media Council (NMC), launched the “Walk to Give” initiative
at a Council board meeting held on Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
Employees
and workers from the media sector across the UAE are invited to take part in
the initiative, which the Council is set to organise on Friday, March 17, 2017,
and which goes to support the Year of Giving 2017.
H.E.
Dr Al Jaber has stressed that the initiative seeks to shed light on the
important role that the media sector plays in the success of nation-wide
initiatives. “It also encourages media personnel to actively promote the noble
messages and objectives of the Year of Giving,” H.E. continued, “and to double
the values of giving and volunteering, and establish them as part of the
corporate culture of the media sector in the UAE.”
“Media
professionals have more responsibilities when it comes to national
initiatives,” H.E. Dr Al Jaber explained: “They must take part in these
initiatives. While promoting them along with all national events, they must
encourage the rest of society to follow suit and actively participate in social
initiatives.”
The
meeting discussed issues related to governance and new legislation expected to
be issued soon, as well as policies and regulations that the Council is working
on. These include the Online Media System project, which aims to regulate online
media in the UAE and steer it towards practices and goals that benefit the
general public. The system also seeks to outline its legal and moral frameworks,
and to ensure that the UAE’s religious, cultural, and social values are respected.
The board
discussed the key messages pertaining to the UAE’s foreign media strategy, and explored
ways to see to it that all media stakeholders adhere to them. Moreover, members
of the board deliberated over a review mechanism to periodically evaluate the
strategy and its implementation, and put forth plans to create a Foreign
Reporters Club in the UAE to bolster communication with them.
On
another note, the board was briefed on the latest updates regarding the UAE’s
participation in Expo Astana 2017 – the pavilion is expected to be fully set up
by the end of May. As for the UAE pavilion for Expo Dubai 2020, the bidding has
been opened with a lead contractor set to be appointed by the end of April.
Finally,
the Council went through the initiatives scheduled to be launched during the Month
of Reading, as well as the Council’s plans to support media activities to be
launched in March.