UAE's National Media Council to deliver smart services

Abu Dhabi: The National Media Council (NMC) is making diligent efforts under directives of its Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Foreign Minister, to provide reliable smart and customer-friendly services to the public whether individuals or companies, NMC Director-General, Ibrahim Al Abed, has said. Speaking at the NMC's first media briefing, Al Abed said that Sheikh Abdullah had given instructions for the media regulator to take special care for dealing with other media establishments in the country on an equal footing and to communicate and interact with them in order to provide them, on a regular basis, with services and information to facilitate their mission in serving the homeland and the local community. The media briefing, which was attended by a number of editors-in-chief of daily newspapers, magazines, media persons and journalists and representatives of other media organisations, is in line with the instructions of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for federal government entities to be more transparent and improve their communications with the local and international media, providing information about new initiatives and answering queries on issues of public interest. Mr. Al Abed said that he appreciated the role the media is playing in serving national issues and interacting with requirements of the community's individuals and corporate sector. The NMC, he stressed, would remain committed to its policy of strengthening its work relationship with strategic partners, consistent with the responsive approach and methodology approved by the government's regular media briefings. The NMC Director-General added that Sheikh Abdullah had also given instructions for revamping the Emirates News Agency's website on the internet. ''A new look website will be launched by end of next March to cope with the tremendous progress in the e-media industry,'' Al Abed revealed. He said that the NMC has recently published the UAE Yearbook 2013 which provides insightful, informative, documented reviews of the UAE's major achievements in all walks of life throughout 2012 and 2013 within the context of the UAE's ambitions, development and progress over the 41 years since its formation. The book offers reliable information and statistics about achievements in economic, political, social, educational, health, cultural and environmental fields, among others. The UAE Yearbook Collection, a valuable information source on developments that occurred in the United Arab Emirates over the years, will appeal to all who have an interest in the country. Mr. Abed said that the NMC-supervised www.uaeinteract.com, the official web site of the United Arab Emirate, is updated daily with news and information as well as photographs and TV footage on the UAE. Delivering its services in Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, German and French, the most comprehensive website on the UAE is surfed by millions of users. Meanwhile, Juma Al Leem, Head of Media Content, NMC, told the media briefing that the NMC package of services like media licenses and media content would be delivered by mobile applications, adding that the NMC accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube are attracting thousands of visitors every day, underpinning the NMC's success in reaching out to the public through social media networks. ''Work is taking place to transform all NMC services into smart services under the instructions of the government. Media licenses will be issued electronically to save time and effort of our customers,'' he added. According to Al Leem, the NMC will start issuing smart services by the end of the third quarter of 2014. Reviewing the mission and news services of WAM, the NMC official said that the state news agency is keen on interacting and communicating with media outlets to provide them with inclusive media information and services. The NMC provides 49 media services and has so far issued 5000 licenses. - Emirates News Agency, WAM