Princess Rym Ali Delivers an Opening Speech at “WAN-IFRA” Middle East Conference

<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Under the slogan &ldquo;The Future Starts Today&rdquo;</strong><br /> <strong>Princess Rym Ali Delivers an Opening Speech at &ldquo;WAN-IFRA&rdquo; Middle East Conference</strong><br /> <br /> Princess Rym Ali, founder of the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), delivered an opening speech at the 9th annual WAN-IFRA Middle East Conference which was organized in Dubai by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.<br /> <br /> The opening was attended by a large number of press and media leaders in the Arab region and the world, in addition to a crowd of those interested in media affairs.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Whether we like it or not, journalists today play a similar role in our societies to that of educators&rdquo;, said Princess Rym Ali in the opening speech.<br /> <br /> She stressed that the changes toward political and social reform are intimately linked to the media and to its ability to inform citizens and involve them in the public sphere. &ldquo;In other words, there can be no proper reform without media reform&rdquo;, she added.<br /> <br /> During the two-day conference which was held under the title &ldquo;The Future Starts Today&rdquo;, Princess Rym said that the development in media landscape is on a fast track, creating a space for freedom of expression. She urged the participants to focus on several important issues, including accuracy and professionalism, to assist traditional media to carry on with the highest ethical and humanitarian standards.<br /> <br /> Princess Rym highlighted how essential it is for our journalists to be grounded in human values, and noted the importance of competing with &nbsp;social media by &nbsp;offering professional journalism, accuracy and a degree of specialization. She pointed out that the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), a non-profit educational institution in the field of journalism education, strives to blend modern technology with traditional journalistic skills, offering practical assignments as well as cultural studies, and all that in the Arabic language.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;It is our hope that journalists who graduate from JMI are equipped to face the challenges brought by the current transitions that our societies are facing&rdquo;, she said.<br /> <br /> At the end of her speech, Princess Rym hoped that, in time, all journalists in the Arab region would be able to work in a gradually more enabling environment, where their only remaining fears would be being inaccurate, unethical or unprofessional.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;WAN-IFRA&rdquo; annual conference represents an important resource for publishers in the region, where they can benefit from the experiences of leading international experts in this field. This year&rsquo;s conference provides information and consultancy from all over the world to this increasingly growing important region.<br /> <br /> Below is the speech of HRH Princess Rym Ali at the event:<br /> <br /> Your Excellencies,<br /> <br /> Ladies and gentlemen,<br /> <br /> It is a pleasure to be among you once again here in Dubai, for the 9th WAN-IFRA Middle East conference.<br /> <br /> As the so-called Arab Spring unfolded on our TV screens for days at a time, the mantra repeated by most commentators was: &ldquo;the fear is gone!&rdquo;<br /> <br /> Most analyses or articles about the Arab uprisings inevitably bring us back to December 17th, 2010, in Tunisia, where it appears to have all started.<br /> <br /> Dramatic as the sacrifice of one of their fellow countrymen was when it was broadcast around the world, the people of Tunisia were already aware of a deficit in areas that make an individual happy and a society prosper. That sacrifice was the spark that ignited their rage.<br /> <br /> But the people of Tunisia didn&rsquo;t need the internet to tell them there was a lack of justice, equality, rule of law, economic well-being and freedom of speech.<br /> <br /> And the stark contrast between what their government TVs showed and what they saw on satellite channels was enough to convince them to get on boats and risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean in the hope they would find something better elsewhere.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> So, it is no surprise that when they took to the streets, one of their main demands was freedom of speech.<br /> <br /> Those in the region who have sought to mobilize themselves have been calling for fundamental societal and political changes.<br /> <br /> A survey issued by the Pew Research Center and conducted in early 2012 showed that economic security remains the most important preoccupation for most people in the Arab world. Media freedom is a priority but not as high as justice or free elections.<br /> <br /> Yet the changes toward political and social reform are intimately linked to the media and to its ability to inform citizens and involve them in the public sphere.&nbsp; In other words, there can be no proper reform without media reform.<br /> <br /> In some parts of the Arab World, there have been drastic changes, which have led to high expectations. The mantra hammered on the global media, &ldquo;the fear has gone&hellip;&rdquo;, may well have applied to the media particularly in authoritarian countries. Much has been said and written about the role of the media, and particularly the social media, in what some termed the Facebook revolutions, forgetting that without the relay of so-called traditional media, those messages would not have reached that many people; not to mention that changes, revolutions and uprisings have taken place in history without those new tools.<br /> <br /> Many of us in the media are left wondering today: has there been a real media revolution as expected? Were these changes reflected on the media landscape?<br /> <br /> Does the media in the countries that have witnessed drastic changes &ndash; namely Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen &ndash; today help form a public space?<br /> <br /> Does it have a role in promoting healthy dialogue that would bring about much needed peaceful transitions?<br /> <br /> Does it contribute to channeling demands for institutionalized political reforms and elimination of authoritarian values?<br /> <br /> Does it offer a platform for social demands to be aired, in line with democratic practices?<br /> <br /> That there have been changes is obvious: but how deep do these changes go when it comes to the media?<br /> <br /> And are we soon going to see, in those countries, the advent of a more professional, diverse and free media industry?&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Last but not least, will state-run media evolve to become a genuine public service provider?<br /> <br /> Whereas the initial euphoria that accompanied the uprisings in some parts of the world seems to have died down, some initial reports in this respect have been outright damning:<br /> <br /> The headline of the World Press Freedom Index for 2013, put together by Reporters without Borders, was: &ldquo;Dashed hopes after the Arab<br /> <br /> Spring.&rdquo; The report contends that, among regions, the Middle East and North Africa come last on the world scale of press freedom.<br /> But fundamental change does not happen overnight. It takes time, vision, breaking old habits and above all training and an enabling environment to reach a sustainable, credible and professional media. It takes a whole culture of democracy.<br /> <br /> And an election alone, even one accompanied by tweets and facebook posts, is not enough to bring that about, not in just three years, in any case.<br /> <br /> The state of the media cannot be assessed independently of the legal and economic contexts.<br /> <br /> Needless to say that constitutional guarantees are to be put in place safeguarding not only freedom of expression but also the right to get access to information. This seems to have happened mainly in Tunisia and in Yemen to a degree but other countries seem to have fallen short when it comes to such guarantees.<br /> <br /> Pluralism and diversity of the media, often considered as measures of media freedom, are largely impeded by economic constraints as you all know and this hasn&rsquo;t been solved by the Arab revolutions.<br /> <br /> What private media outlets have emerged recently are linked to political parties and promote &ndash;as in many countries around the world &ndash; specific political agendas, while government media in many areas are finding it hard to &ldquo;let go.&rdquo;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The success of media reforms largely depends on the success of the political transition itself, with the ultimate goal to support diversity and develop an independent media, that reflects the ethnic, cultural and political diversity, and that can serve the public interest in a sustainable way. Two &ldquo;types&rdquo; of media require special attention: public media that really provides services to the public without Government interference, and the development of community media.<br /> <br /> The changes in some countries have yet to bring about a more transparent process, for example, when it comes to choosing the editors of some of the main media outlets.<br /> <br /> A free media cannot thrive without journalists feeling safe to go about their jobs. In Libya, there may have been a new constitution since the demise of the former regime, journalists cannot exercise their right to freedom of expression, because of the general lawlessness and lack of security &ndash; and the fear brought about by militias. So the fear that was gone there, seems to have been replaced by another type of fear.<br /> <br /> Looking at this landscape, those who rushed to say that winds of change would sweep everywhere in a matter of weeks and that there would be democracy and jobs instantly were obviously disappointed. That is not how societies change. That is not how the media changes either.<br /> <br /> That reminds me of a story attributed to Chou En Lai, the first Premier of the People&rsquo;s Republic of China, who when asked in the early 1950&rsquo;s about the impact of the 1789 French Revolution, replied: &ldquo;it is too soon to say!&rdquo;.<br /> <br /> I&rsquo;m not suggesting that what happened in the region resembles the French revolution &ndash; but I do hope it will not take 200 hundred years for us to see some positive change in the media landscape!<br /> <br /> Despite the disappointments I mentioned, there is still a sense among most people that one of the biggest achievements of the Arab uprisings is freedom of speech.<br /> <br /> In Tunisia, the only media under Zein al Abidin Ben Ali was the public or governmental one, with a high level of concentration in the Capital at the expense of the various regions, as was the case in Muammar Ghaddafi&rsquo;s Libya. The main news outlets in Egypt were very close to the<br /> Government, if not outright Government mouthpieces.<br /> <br /> No doubt that the proliferation of local media outlets today is a phenomenon rarely seen before, giving voice to a large array of citizens who never had a say.<br /> <br /> No doubt, the level of trust in the local media has increased with most citizens in countries like Tunisia &ndash; or in Iraq where changes were brought about way before the uprisings &ndash; tuning in to their own media now, instead of switching to pan-Arab or foreign news outlets for news about their own country, especially as the latter are perceived by many as upholding political agendas.<br /> <br /> The so-called Arab Spring also forced the giant media companies to use the Arab social media as a source of news.&nbsp; The reporters of some Arab networks &ndash; some setting themselves up as stars or legends &ndash; were replaced in many cases by young people reporting from the field.<br /> And smaller news outlets, albeit with different agendas, are challenging the impact and credibility of big pan-Arab networks and this, beyond the borders of the region itself.<br /> <br /> Today, more than ever &ldquo;Arab news organisations are helping to shape global attitudes.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> In his book, The New Arab Journalist, Laurence Pintak writes:<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Whereas the American TV networks, the BBC and a handful of Western newspapers and wire services once wrote the international news narrative, today Arab journalists are the eyes and ears for half the globe as news organisations across the developing world rebroadcast coverage from the Arab channels. (&hellip;). The Arab media is in the throes of change.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> In Yemen, journalist Nadia al Sakkaf writes that &ldquo;lack of media control, chaotic reporting and the rise of mostly biased private media characterize today&rsquo;s media scene as a result of Yemen&rsquo;s 2011 Arab Spring.&rdquo;<br /> <br /> In the past three months alone, she says, five private radio stations have begun operations, three of which are affiliated to political parties.<br /> In total, nine private radio stations and eleven private satellite channels have come into existence over the last two years. An openness, which she says, has been reflected more chaotically in online and print media.<br /> <br /> In many of the countries where uprisings took place, scores of dailies, TVs and radios are mushrooming. If quantity is a measure for the freedom of expression, then it is there. But quantity alone &ndash; as we all know &ndash; is not necessarily a sign of a healthy media.<br /> <br /> When it comes to quality, observers of the media in some of those countries say that even in those private media outlets, opposing viewpoints are not always fairly represented; blunt narration of one-sided stories is still common practice and many journalists see no problem with excessive political alignment &ndash; in fact, some Egyptian talk show hosts say they believe it is their duty.<br /> <br /> Fatima Issawi, in her analysis of the situation in post-revolution Egypt describes a state of confusion following &ldquo;the erosion of the old status quo in the relationship between media and politics which did not lead to an edification of new clear dynamics, thereby leaving the media struggle with the shaky and complex dilemmas of political transition&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> This confusion is further reflected in the way the journalist has come to perceive his/her role. The newly acquired freedom has blurred the lines between information and activism, from news messenger to newsmaker. Press freedom, in some cases, has become equated to the expression of personal views, unfounded accusations and lack of objectivity. Media outlets are sometimes hijacked by the prevailing political divisions and struggles and as Issawi puts it &ldquo;the main losers are the journalists who, though finally free to exercise their craft, are sacrificing their gains in the service of ideologies&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Many journalists have been unable to take advantage of their newfound freedoms. An enabling environment to support media does not only stem from a proper legislative structure and a thriving economy. It comes from an environment where there is access to independent research, surveys, and polls, severely lacking in some of the countries I mentioned.<br /> <br /> And when it exists, it is more often than not a study made in another language for another audience.<br /> <br /> Philip Seib who is a member of the board of the American University of Dubai, recently stressed the need to provide training in Arabic, saying that &quot;the development of Arab media education has been slowed by ill-conceived efforts to mirror western curricula. The problem is rooted in a failure to recognize that the heart of a media curriculum is not technique but culture&rdquo;.<br /> <br /> We, Arabs, share our part of responsibility in that, with a dire need for journalistic references and academic studies in Arabic, produced by Arab scholars.<br /> <br /> And, most of all, for professionalism to be upheld in the media, there is still a great need for training &ndash; but not any kind of training.<br /> <br /> For decades and in particular in the aftermath of 9/11, much aid was poured into regular training programs for the media.<br /> <br /> Most recently, the trend has been to provide training programs for journalists, activists and filmmakers of the various countries in the region all lumped together.<br /> <br /> While training for journalists in the region is attracting huge interest from the international community, a great deal of effort is still needed.<br /> <br /> Most importantly, training needs to be tailored to the particular needs of the local community of journalists.<br /> <br /> During the course of the research that I did for this talk, I noted stories of trainers who found their mission challenging, not only because the laws and general environment they were operating in had nothing to do with what they were used to in the West, but also because they could not relate to some of the cultural taboos&hellip; Thus, it took them a while in one instance, to realize that a typical example of video in the west &ndash; &ldquo;boy meets girl in a bar&rdquo;&ndash; needed to be changed to &ldquo;girl meets mother in a caf&eacute;&rdquo;&hellip;<br /> <br /> Some journalists do not have the right tools to tackle, in a professional way, current events and sensitive topics. And while two-week training courses that are offered here and there do serve a purpose, it is not enough to really tackle the root of the problem.<br /> <br /> And &ndash;as the future starts today &ndash; it is not too late to start implementing serious change now.<br /> <br /> With the new technologies available to all, there is a need to expect more thoroughness in terms of content.<br /> <br /> There is also a need for digital media literacy to be available even at a very young age in high school curricula.<br /> <br /> This is useful in fact, not only to those who will later become professional journalists. It is indispensible to the future community of citizen journalists or social media activists, now that almost everyone can be both a consumer and a producer of content.<br /> <br /> Technology alone cannot fill the gaps.<br /> <br /> From high school, to university, it is not just critical thinking but general knowledge and cultural studies that are lacking: for a journalist needs to have a wider grasp and understanding of the world around him or her.<br /> <br /> Some knowledge of the law should be a pre-requisite, as well as some knowledge about the history of religions.<br /> <br /> Cross-cultural understanding should be a part and parcel of any journalist&rsquo;s training. In particular, if we want to see a change in public media in our region, we need to ensure that journalists will give a voice to all the groups that make up our communities.<br /> <br /> Whether we like it or not, journalists today play a similar role in our societies to that of educators.<br /> <br /> So it is essential for our journalists to be versed in humanistic values.<br /> <br /> And to compete with social media and offer professional journalism, accuracy and a degree of specialization are today necessary.<br /> <br /> To that end, at the Jordan Media Institute, we strive to blend modern technology with traditional journalistic skills, we offer practical assignments as well as cultural studies, and all that in Arabic.<br /> <br /> It is our hope that journalists that graduate from JMI, are equipped to face the challenges brought by the current transitions that our societies are facing.<br /> <br /> It is also our hope that in time, all journalists in our region will be able to work in a gradually more enabling environment, with issues such as being inaccurate, unethical or unprofessional their only remaining fear&hellip;<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Thank you very much.<br /> &nbsp;