Information Minister opens 14th Gulf Radio, Television Festival

Manama, Mar. 14 (BNA): Information Minister and President of the 14th Gulf Radio and Television Festival Ali bin Mohammed Al Rumaihi inaugurated today the 14th edition of the festival which is organised by the Gulf Radio and Television Corporation (GRTC) in cooperation with the Information Affairs Ministry. The inauguration took place in the presence of GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, His Majesty the King's Advisor for Media Affairs Nabil bin Yaqoob Al Hamar, ministers, senior offcials, GCC ambassadors to Bahrain and media persons from Bahrain and the GCC countries. The Information Minister welcomed the audience, voicing happiness about hosting the festival in the presence of an elite of media personnel and intellectuals from the GCC countries and the Arab region. He thanked GRTC, the GCC Secretariat General and the organizing committees for organizing the landmark media event which he described as a GCC and Arab message to the whole world of the key role played by the media in preserving the Arab culture, identity and values, boosting creativity and promoting the culture of peace and tolerance. He also pointed out the importance of the theme of this year's festival, "One Media Vision", in highlighting the growing awareness of the need to unite the media discourse and bolster cooperation to ward off threats to regional security and stability. "The current challenges require innovated media tools that keep abreast of the fast-paced developments in the media and telecommunication sector," he said. He pointed out that the increasing reliance on the internet as a source of news and information forces new challenges on the Arab traditional media, in terms of speed of news publication accurately and credibly, in facing states of chaos witnessed by many social media. He noted the need to keep pace with the gigantic information and communication technology revolution in light of the increase of internet users in the world to 3.2 billion, representing 43.4% of the world population, stressing its serious role in the dissemination of rumors, cyber terrorism or its impact on economies. He explained that a single tweet by a young man followed by a million people is capable of shaking an Arab stock exchanges, or a 15-second video on Instagram to cause changes in a number of Arab government institutions. The minister expressed thanks to all sponsoring institutions for promoting the competition comprised more than 300 media and artistic works, wishing everybody success in delivering the media discourse based on principles of professionalism and accountability, promoting community partnership, supporting the comprehensive and sustainable development march and uplifting Gulf and Arab media stance in regional and international forums. Director-General of the Gulf Radio and Television Corporation (GRTC) and Festival Secretary-General Dr. Abdulla bin Said Abu Ras extended thanks and appreciation to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the Government and the people of Bahrain. Addressing the opening ceremony, he thanked Information Affairs Minister, Festival President, Ali bin Mohammed Al-Rumaihi, Bahrain TV director Youssef Mohammed Ismail and all the ministry efforts in support of the event. He also thanked the (GRTC) chairman, Saudi Culture and Information Minister Dr. Adel bin Zaid Al-Tarifi, hailing his follow-up and directives which helped ensure quality and overcome obstacles. He described the festival as a milestone, stressing keenness on enhancing the standard of functions and events to keep abreast of media strides and developments. The 2016 edition included a competition for three categories of short films as part of efforts to encourage budding talents and develop cinema, alongside other contests which feature GCC radio and electronic media. Dr. Abu Ras concluded his speech by thanking the directors of Arab and radio and TV stations as well as Arab and GCC artists who are attending the festival. Oman TV Supervisor Ahmed Al-Mehdhari addressed the ceremony on behalf of the honourees and thanked the organisers, stressing the importance of turning the festival into a catalyst for the coming media generations. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Al-Rumaihi and Dr. Abu Ras awarded the following honourees: Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja, Samira Ibrahim bin Rajab, Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Abed, Mubarak Jaham Al-Kawari, Mohammed Hassan Abu Jassoum, Amin Isa Al-Dosary, Youssef Al-Yooussefi, Ali Obaid Al-Hamli and Emad Abdul Mohsen. The list of honourees also included: Kingdom of Bahrain: Estiqlal Ahmed, Ahmed Ashour Hassan and Mohammed Ibrahim Lory United Arab Emirates: Ali Said Al-Sharif, Said Khamis Al-Sharqi and Mohammed Al-Joker Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Fatima bint Mekhlaf Al-Enzi, Dr. Ali bin Mohammed Al-Najai and Mohammed Ali Al-Bakr The Sultanate of Oman: Eid bin Hareb Al-Mashifri, Ahmed bin Amer Al-Hadhari and Said Taman Al-Omari The State of Qatar: Mohammed Abdulla Al-Marzooki, Mubarak Nasser Al-Awami and Isa bin Abdulla Al-Hatmi. The State of Kuwait: Aisha Saleh Al-Yahya, Saad Al-Faraj and Abdulaziz Al-Anbari. AOQ / MJ / AHN