The Arab Information Ministers Council has adopted the Emirati proposal for "Tolerance" to be the Council’s intellectual theme in 2019, under the title "Arab Media’s Role in Promoting Tolerance".

The Council made the decision during its 10th ordinary session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday (January 9). The UAE was represented by Mansour Ibrahim Al Mansouri, director general of the National Media Council (NMC), heading a high-profile delegation from the country.

Al Mansouri applauded the Council’s decision to adopt the UAE’s proposal, asserting that any effort on the part of Arab media outlets to promote and strengthen tolerance must rely on a comprehensive national strategy engaging all relevant stakeholders. These efforts would also require embedding the values of tolerance, coexistence and openness within the community – and especially among the younger generations.

The UAE’s proposal echoes the announcement made by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for 2019 to be the Year of Tolerance in the UAE. It underlines the importance of tolerance and calls for establishing it as a sustainable corporate practice through a body of legislation and policies that seek to deeply embed tolerance, dialogue, and openness in society.

Al Mansouri stressed the need to develop a media discourse rooted in such concepts as diversity and coexistence in societies that embrace the principles of tolerance, love and coexistence as a means to achieve peace, security and stability in the region, guaranteeing sustainable development and prosperity.

The UAE’s proposal called for highlighting successful experiences of tolerance through traditional and digital media, as well as social networking platforms. It additionally called for highlighting government initiatives and policies that promote tolerance as a concept and social etiquette. The idea prioritised focusing on the youth in efforts to promote the concepts and practices of tolerance through targeted interactive programmes.

In its meeting, the Executive Office of Arab Information Ministers Council tackled several themes that emphasise the importance of promoting joint media production. The meeting also called on the Ministries of Information and all relevant stakeholders in member states to launch a media promotional campaign highlighting the importance of water security for the stability of the peoples and countries of the Arab region. – TradeArabia News Service