Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists launches its Future of Media and Communications Forum in its first cycle
- International Federation of Journalists, International Press Institute, and Federation of Arab Journalists attend participate in the Forum.
- 50 of the most prominent media leaders from outside Jordan participate in the discussion sessions.
- 22 discussion sessions over 3 days, during which 60 prominent figures will speak.
- Questions on the future of media, the role of social media platforms, and the impact of technology are the subject of in-depth research.
The regional-international Forum “The Future of Media and Communications” organized by Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) and attended by more than 300 journalists, and influencers on social media platforms, will begin its work tomorrow, Sunday, 17th September 2023, at the Royal Hotel in Amman.
The Forum includes 22 specialized discussion sessions, attended by 60 speakers, and moderated by 22 journalists.
The sessions begin with the “Social Media Platforms… Diverse Voices and Visions” Forum, which opens the door to broad discussions about the role and future of social media, and its impact on professional media.
The International Federation of Journalists, which is an umbrella to all the world’s unions, and the International Press Institute, the oldest international media organizations, are participating in the 3-day Forum.
The Forum is attended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and many Arab and international journalists’ unions.
The official opening of the Forum begins on Sunday, 17th of September at five in the evening, during which Mr. Moayed Al-Lami, Head of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate and President of the Arab Journalists Union, Mr. Scott Girven, Executive Vice President at the International Press Institute, Mr. Nasser Abu Bakr, Vice President at the International Federation For journalists and Head of Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, and H.E. Mr. Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas, Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan will speak about the regional and international organizations’ vision of the future of media, in addition to H.E. Ms. Ms. Suzan Afaneh, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at CDFJ.
The Forum is attended by more than 50 journalists, syndicates leaders, and experts from outside Jordan, and its discussions focus on three themes: transformations in the media scene and the fate of professional journalism, the impact of the dominance of social media platforms, and the accelerating repercussions of media and communication technology.
The Forum seeks to imagine and predict the forms and tools of media and communication after a decade or more, and whether social media platforms, such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Tiktok and others, will still dominate the scene and control the audience, and advancing as a source for the flow of information, including fake and misleading information, or is there something coming after social media, and will it be a new revolution that will change the whole scene.
The Forum will raise questions and seek answers, perhaps foremost among them: What is the fate of the professional media (newspapers, magazines, radio, television, websites) after sales, advertising, and even state support for them has declined? Is it breathing its last breath, or is it able to renew itself and withstand?
The Forum will discuss the fact that social media platforms have become the main source for the flow of information, and have become the public’s preferred source for obtaining information, as well as the preferred platforms for social media influencers who are attracting the attention of millions of social media users.
The first appearance in the Forum sessions will be of the former Minister of Labor and Investment and Activist on social media platforms, H.E Dr. Maan Qatamin, to answer the question of: “Social media platforms: what have they done to us and what have they done to the world?”.
The second session titled “The making of stars on social media: Diverse Voices and Visions”, will be moderated by Mr. Osama Jetawi and Ms. Nisreen Abudayyeh, and during which Ms. Dima Farraj, Activist on social media platforms, Ms. Zain Awad, Jordanian Artist, and Mr. Imad Hajjaj, Cartoonist and Activist on social media platforms will speak. It will be followed by a session titled “Social media platforms: The line between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred and violence”, during which Mr. Khaled Mansour, Member of the Supervisory Board at META, Dr. Stefanie Pukallus, Senior Lecturer in Public Communication and Civil Development at University of Sheffield, Ms. Hala Ahed, Lawyer and Human Rights Defender, and Ms. Reem Saadeh, a Jordanian Artist will be speakers, and Mr. Mohammad Ghalmoush will be a moderator.
The following session will discuss the question of “Do governments interfere in social media to protect societies or to control the public sphere?” which is set to be answered by H.E. Dr. Muhammad Abu Rumman, Former Minister of Culture and Youth and Academic Advisor at the Politics & Society Institute, Mr. Al-Hashemi Nawira, Founding President of the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate, Mr. Ahmed Al-Taibi, President of the Arab Movement for Change, and Mr. Raed Sammour, Expert in Information Security, and will be moderated by Ms Hanaa Al Araj.
In the session titled “Social media algorithms: Constant accusations” Mr. Ashraf Zaytoun, former Head of Middle East Policy Management at META, Mr. Khaled Al-Ahmad, Expert in social media platforms, and Mr. Magdi Qabalin, Expert in Cyber security will be speakers, and will be moderated by Ms. Asmaa Abu Jabbara.
“When the impossible becomes possible: “Questions on the future of media”” is a session during which Mr. Khaled Bermawi, Journalist and Social Media Expert from Egypt, Ms. Rana Sweis, Founder of wishbox media company will be speakers, and will be moderated by the TV Presenter Mr. Ibrahim Jaikat.
Nidal Mansour, the Founder and Member of the Board of Directors of CDFJ, will present during the session “Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists: 25 years of defending freedom of expression and media” the Center’s work journey and its most prominent accomplishments.
The main speaker in the post-opening session will be H.E. Dr. Marwan Muasher, Vice President of the Carnegie Institution and Former Minister of the Royal Court, and the session will be moderated by Ms. Mirasha Ghazi, TV Presenter at Asharq TV in Dubai.
The first session in the second day of the Forum will discuss the topic “Media professionals and influencers on social media: has the profession changed? Exchanging roles or competing for audience?” and will include Mr. Saad Hattar, News Director at Roya TV, Mr. Hathan Saeed, Director of TV K 24 Kurdistan Iraq, Ms. Zeina Hamarneh, Activist on Social Media Platforms, and Mr. Ahmed Al-Sorour, Jordanian TV Director and Presenter, and will be moderated by Ms. Areej Al-Qasim.
Following that, the attendees will take part in four divided parallel sessions with different titles; The first is titled “Is printed media dying out or is it a prelude to new beginnings in innovative forms?” in which the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ghad Newspaper, Mr. Makram Tarawneh, will speak and will be moderated by Ms. Hiba Jawhar. The second session is titled “Communication in the digital age… political intervention…and creating public opinion trends”, in which Mr. Abdul Rahman Al-Hussami, CEO and Founder of Makana 360 Company will speak, and moderator will be Ms. Hadeel Namas. The third session, which is titled “Public media: Fleeing from financial crisis, a method of state control, or a right for the community?” in which Ms. Bayan Al-Tall, Media, Communication and Media Education Consultant will be a speaker, and the session will be moderated by Ms. Rafah Jawad. The four and last parallel session is titled “Disclosure of information in the face of fake news”, and will include Mr. Assaad Thebian, Executive Director of the Gharbal Initiative from Lebanon, and Mr. Maan Al-Bayari, Head of the Opinion Department at AlAraby Al Jadeed, and will be moderated by Ms. Ikhlas Al-Khawaleh from the UNESCO.
The main sessions will return with a session titled “Human rights and the marginalized in the absent-present media, Stories of suffering and violations” and will include Ms. Ghada Eid, Lebanese Journalist and Media Presenter, d Mr. Fadi Al-Qadi, Media and Human Rights Expert, Ms. Guylaine Germain, Gender Programs Coordinator at the Belgian Journalists Syndicate, Ms. Linda Kalash, Executive Director of Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights as speakers, and will be moderated by Ms. Ghada Ammar, a Journalist at AlMamlaka TV.
The next session will host the Jordanian Artist Mr. Zuhair Al-Nubani in the session “My Story… Experiences narrated by media and social media stars” and will be moderated by the Journalist Ms. Lana AlQousous.
In the session “Artificial intelligence and future media” Mr. Nidal Al-Bitar, Director of Production Association will speak, along with Dr. Mirna Abu Zeid, Dean of the Jordan Media Institute, Mr. Hussam Al-Hawarni, Head of Education Department Orange Telecommunication Corporation, and Mr. Ghaith Mahadin, Assistant Professor at Al-Ahliyya Amman University, and Ms. Kathy Farraj, a Journalist at Jordan TV, as a moderator.
H.E. Mr. Sakher Dudin, Former Minister of State for Media Affairs, in addition to Dr. Mohammed Al-Araimi, Head of the Journalists Syndicate from Sultanate of Oman, Mr. Azad Sheikh Younis, Head of the Journalists Syndicate in Kurdistan, Ms. Nibal Al-Thwabteh, Training and Quality Assurance Officer and Media Development Center at Birzeit University in Palestine will speak in the session titled “Media and the public sphere… changes and similarities between East and West… To preserve priorities: between rights challenges and content creation” which will be moderated by Ms. Rana Khamayseh from Jordan TV.
The Forum’s third day will begin with a session titled “Could media be freed from the power of social media platforms? Could social media continue to function without the content of media? How does the world perceive the media and social media platforms? Are they essential for the state?” and moderated by the Egyptian Journalist Ms. Dina Esmat. During the session, Ms. Florence Hainaut, Belgian Journalist, Mr. Mehdi Al-Jalasi, Head of the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate, Ms. Hadeel Abdulaziz, Executive Director of Justice Center for Legal Aid will speak, in addition to a recorded speech by Mr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director General at the UNESCO.
In the following session, “Future media… Technology and sustainability models”, H.E. Mr. Marwan Jumaa, Former Minister of Communications and Former Director of Umniah Corporate, Professor Yazzan Hijazi, Lecturer at Al-Hussein Technical University, Ms. Alaa Abu Lail, Head of Innovation Unit at Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, and Mr. Zaid Nasser, Founder and CEO Media Scope Company will speak, and Ms. Rawan Al-Jayousi, Founder and Director of Madraj Media and Digital Runway for Arab Journalists will be a moderator.
“When Journalists become targets: Journalists who lost their lives on the frontline” is a session that will include Prof. Jacqueline L. Harrison, UNESCO Chair on Media Freedom, Journalism Safety and the Issue of Impunity, and Head of the School of Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Sheffield in UK, Mr. Abdul Basit bin Hassan, President of the Arab Institute for Human Rights, Mr. Adam Coogle, Deputy Middle East and North, Africa Director and Jordan Representative Human Rights Watch, and Mr. Jad Shahrour from Samir Kassir Foundation as speakers, and Ms. Sandy Al-Habashneh, a Journalist in AlMamlaka TV, as a moderator.
The Forum concludes its work with the “Letters on the future of media” session, during which H.E Dr. Mustafa Hamarneh, CEO at Jordan Media Institute will speak, and a recorded speech by Ms. Karine Badr, Policy Analyst at the OECD’s Open Government Unit, Civic Space and Public Communication Unit will be presented, and Mr. Nidal Mansour, Founder and Member of the Board of Directors of CDFJ will be a moderator.
The Forum is organized with the support and partnership of the Delegation of the European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Embassy of Ireland in Jordan, Embassy of Belgium in Jordan, The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Jordan Kuwait Bank, National Microfinance Bank, Orange Telecommunications Corporation as Telecommunication partner, and Jett Transportation Company as a transport partner, AlJazeera Media Institute and The University of Sheffield as knowledge partners, and Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights as a civil partner.
The Forum is also supported by the following media partners: Asharq TV, Fadaat Media (Al Araby TV, Al Araby Al Jadeed Newspaper, Oman Journalists Association, Iraq Journalists Syndicate, Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, Madraj Media and Digital Runway for Arab Journalists, AlMamlaka TV, Roya TV, Melody Radio, sixtreet, and Majd Mansour and Associates Company.
