Gulf Political Media Forum in Bahrain kicks off, focuses on civic peace

 Under the auspices of Deputy Premier Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the third Gulf Political Media Forum, themed "Media and Civic Peace", kicked off today. 

Organized by the Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) for the third year in a row, the forum attracted an elite of GCC and Arab intellectuals, politicians and media figures.

Advisor to HM the King for Media Affairs and the BIDP Board of Trustees Chairman Nabil bin Yaqoob Al Hamar said that the third Gulf Political Media Forum would consolidate the importance of meaningful intellectual dialogue in addressing pressing issues and enhancing the role of moderate media discourse as one of the effective mechanisms to face the threat of extremism resulting from the misguided radical ideologies adopted by some sides.

In his statement, delivered on his behalf by BIDP Board of Trustees Deputy Chairman Dr. Fuad Shehab, he said that the first two editions of forum had contributed to reaching agreement on many topics regarding ways to address shortcomings of the Arab media situation. 

He added that the third edition built on BIDP's keenness to select topics aiming to develop media discourse, highlighting the importance of this year's theme, "Media and Civic Peace." He said that civic peace was direly needed to overcome all forms of violence and extremism and move to a secure environment through fortifying our societies from attempts to sow divide among their members.

He stressed that GCC societies had proved their ability to maintain civic peace throughout history thanks their fraternal bonds and common values.

He described the third Gulf Political Media Forum as a platform to launch a GCC Arab project based on the principles and ethics of responsible media work that supports civic peace through the "focusing on what unites us and does not divide us, adhering to our deep-rooted values and morals that promote love, respect, co-existence, patriotism, respect for religion, refraining from sparking sectarian strife and rejecting violence and division." 

Al-Arabiya Channel's Director-General Turki Al-Dakhil also addressed the opening session of the forum. He affirmed that civic peace required rejecting all kinds of incitement against social segments, whether it is material or symbolic, published in all mass media, including new ones. He noted that civic peace aimed primarily to prevent civil war in society, and address incitement of violence in some Arab media outlets.

He called on Arab mass media to focus on building a culture that enhances immunity against religious extremism, which, he said, will contribute to strengthening the pillars of civic peace.

Then, the deputy premier distributed the Gulf Political Media Forum's awards.