‘Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum’ Organizes ‘Press Freedom and Media Education’ Session

AMMAN - Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum (TAG-KF), a member of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), in cooperation with the Arab Women Media Center (AWMC), has organized a panel session entitled "Press Freedom and Media Education", in the presence of a host of journalists, academics and students.

For the session, TAG-KF hosted Journalist Ms. Mahasen Al-Imam, AWMC founder and chairman, Dr. Kamel Khurshid, a faculty member at the Middle East University, Dr. Aliya Idris, a faculty member at Al-Zarqa University, and Dr. Sulafa Al-Zoubi, a faculty member at the Arab Open University. 

During the meeting, Ms. Al-Imam pointed out that media culture has become an essential part of the students’ daily routine, especially in light of the great influence of social media platforms upon them. She drew attention to the media program offered by the Center for private school students, in cooperation with the Dutch Embassy in Amman; the program that played a vital role in sharpening students communication skills, differentiating between media and advertising, enabling students to become influential and effective individuals in their lives, and minimizing the negative effects of excessive media consumption.

For his part, Dr. Khurshid emphasized that freedom of the press and media education are two interconnected pillars that play a vital role in creating  democratic communities and in enhancing the development of critical thinking, public accountability, and the protection of individual rights and freedoms. He affirmed that the phenomenon of indecent content on social media platforms necessitates effectively and wisely the promotion of media education.

Dr. Idris joined the debate saying  that media education and its different types, such as media culture and fighting media illiteracy, became basic skills that everyone must acquire since they are the best ways to properly interact with traditional and digital media platforms, which have become part of people’s life.

While Dr. Al-Zoubi emphasized  that the ‘citizen journalist’ phenomenon emerged first in Lebanon, then in Jordan, and afterward in most Arab countries due to the prevailing situation, and was most apparent during the so-called Arab Spring particularly in places where the protests and uprisings were not peaceful, such as in Syria, Yemen, and Libya. She pointed out that media education was created to become a basis for spreading accurate information based on the respect of freedoms of others.