What is it like to be a journalist in the UAE?

* The video was created as a final project for Spring, 2012 ‘Advanced Converged Media’ course in collaboration with The National multimedia team.

CNN anchor: Shift in empowering women must go further

CNN Anchor and correspondent Hala Gorani speaking at WAGL 2012 in the ZU Convention Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABU DHABI—The cultural shift of giving women the opportunities to empower themselves needs to go further, Hala Gorani, CNN International anchor and correspondent, said during Women As Global Leaders conference at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (March 14).

Gorani spoke about the role of women in the Arab Spring. She said that almost half of the journalists in Libya were women. They also have presence today in Syria. Indeed, the work of reporter Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times of London, who was recently killed while on the job in Syria, was indicative of that presence.

The CNN anchor said this shows that women are as strong as men. Many women today are not afraid of putting themselves in dangerous situations, she said. They leave everything at home to go to war zones and cover natural disasters.

Sigourney Weaver stresses role of women in fighting global warming

American actress Sigourney Weaver discusses the environment at WAGL 2012 in the ZU Convention center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABU DHABI—The Hollywood actress who is known for her role in the four “Alien” films, Sigourney Weaver, stressed the vital role that women play in fighting the global warming at Women As Global Leaders conference at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday afternoon (March 13).

Her speech at the ZU Convention Center was about global warming and the profound destruction caused by climate change. She said that it is imperative for women to make fighting global warming the number one priority for them.

“As leaders in their families and communities, women can become critical leaders in eradicating poverty and protecting the earth,” Weaver said. “By empowering women to make decisions in their lives, women can make a significant impact in curbing global warming.”

Tackling some cultural norms is crucial for UAE young women to gain independence

Abu Dhabi—While the leadership of the UAE is committed to empowering women and reducing the gender gap, many young Emirati women are still dependent on their parents or husbands.

Young Emirati women make up to 47 percent of private universities graduates in the UAE. However, only 20.3 percent of the national workforce is female, according to the Emirates News Agency. Many young women stay at home after graduation from high school or college. Although female driving in the UAE is legal, unlike in Saudi Arabia, many girls have a driver.

Asma AbdulMalik, 26, a country program officer at Dubai Cares, said that the main reason behind women’s dependence on husbands and parents “is the social, cultural, intellectual, and religious heritage of the UAE.”

She said that many UAE women are still not comfortable to “go beyond the roles and responsibilities shaped and mandated by society and religion.”

Are bloggers journalists?

Are bloggers journalists?

Should bloggers be provided legal protection that journalists get?

The Stream, a social media community show on Al Jazeera English, tried to find out the answers to those questions in its last night’s episode.

 

 

The presenter, Imran Garda, highlighted my tweet “We shouldn’t be protecting journalists, but journalism”, saying that it’s “a very thoughtful point there.”

Students, experts examine obstacles to female entrepreneurship

From left to right: Peter Menche, GIZ Representative; Thomas Birringer, KAS Regional Representative; Azza Al Qubaisi, Jewellery designer; Dr. Maitha Al Shamsi, State Minister; Shorooq Al Zaabi, Head of Development and Future Studies at the Department of Economic Development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abu Dhabi – To learn how to start their way to the world of entrepreneurship, a number of female Emirati students participated in the “Females as Entrepreneurs” workshop on Oct. 6 at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi.

H.E. Dr. Maitha Al Shamsi, State Minister, said in her speech at the opening of the workshop that the UAE tops 14 Arab countries in reducing the gender gap and ranked 25 in empowering women worldwide.

“This is a great achievement that must be the focus of attention for Emirati women who have put their feet in the ladder of work and success,” she said.

Shorooq Al Zaabi, Head of Development Indicators and Future Studies at the Department of Economic Development, said that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has the highest level of employment of Emirati women among the GCC countries.

Journalism’s first obligation should be to the truth

A critical review of chapter two of The Elements of Journalism, a book by PEJ Director Tom Rosenstiel and CCJ Chairman and PEJ Senior Counselor Bill Kovach

Some journalists might think that being truthful is getting the facts right and using accurate information and numbers. However, I have to disagree, because there is a difference between truthfulness and accurateness.

In his definition of the truth, Walter Lippmann, an American intellectual, writer, reporter, and political commentator, has asserted that in order to tell the truth, journalists have to do more than just getting their facts right. They have “to bring to light the hidden facts, to set them into relation with each other, and make a picture of reality upon which men can act.”

When reading news articles, people usually don’t know the background of the story, or in another words, the full context in which the story was emerged. It’s the responsibility of the journalists to find out some more information about the story to get them understand the full context.

Al Matroushi eyes national identity in education

Huda Al Matroushi receiving the Business Woman of the Year Award. Photo courtesy: http://www.hudaalmatroushi.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abu Dhabi – With 21 years of experience in the public sector, the candidate Huda Al Matroushi, the vice president in the general services division at Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO), is aiming to improve social and economical welfare through the Federal National Council.

Al Matroushi said that “it’s a privilege to all U.A.E. nationals to be part of this event.”

In the 2006 elections, only 6,000 Emiratis had the right to vote for an FNC candidate. In this year’s elections, the number has been expanded to almost 130,000 Emiratis. These voters will choose their preferred candidate from a total of 469 candidates all over the seven Emirates.

“It’s a responsibility for all UAE nationals to make this experience one of the best experiences in the country,” Al Matroushi said.

Her principal objective is to focus on national identity and include it in schools and higher education institutions.

“Only a Free Press Can Hurt Them”

The Arab Spring has brought many changes in the Arab World. One of the most important changes has been the change in media and the freedom of press.

Although it’s not a big change, but the press are getting some more freedom to report on certain issues.

For example, many “free” news media have emerged in eastern Libya since the start of the revolution, according to Reporters Without Borders’ report in April 2011.

The report shows that most of these media carry a lot of coverage of the war and the international intervention, tributes to war heroes, and stories about east Libyan society. They also show Muammar al-Gaddafi’s crimes with poems and cartoons of him.

Today, I ran across this interesting ad campaign from Reporters Without Borders produced about a year ago, but it’s more relevant now in 2011. It features crinkled images of some of the world leaders who use an iron grip on press freedom to lead their nations, and one of them was Muammar al-Gaddafi.

Journalism Can Be Fun Too

As soon as I got an offer to teach a journalism basics course at Ghiras, I realized that this will be a big challenge for me. It’s not just my first teaching experience, but I’m also familiar with my potential students in the age between 12 to 18 who are not that interested in the word “journalism”.

How can I make it interesting?

I started to think, ask my friends and family, and search on the internet. I even went to a bookstore to look for some books about interesting methods to teach journalism. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any, which got me to think again…

What am I going to teach them?

Journalism? Hmm, not really. The course is only three weeks and I can’t teach them everything. Plus, I’m still a journalism student and I don’t have that experience to teach it. So, how can I teach them a journalism course in three weeks? That was the real challenge.