Jeddah (UNA) – The media forum “Principal trends in the transformation of the information field in the modern world and the OIC countries”, organized by the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA), in cooperation with the Tatmedia Agency in Tatarstan, and in partnership with the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia-Islamic World” and the Permanent Mission of Russia to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), kicked off on Wednesday in Kazan, Tatarstan.
The forum comes within the framework of the “Kazan Forum 2024” and is dedicated to the fifty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
At the beginning of the opening session of the forum, Tatmedia Head Aidar Salimgaraev, stressed that the Kazan Forum is the most important platform for cooperation between Russia and the countries of the Islamic world with Tatarstan serving as a gateway for dialogue between different civilizations, for partnership and cooperation.
“We hope that this media session will become a platform for developing joint initiatives and practical action plans in the field of information cooperation between Russia and the OIC countries and will lead to definite practical results.”
For his part, UNA Director General, Mr. Mohammed Abd Rabbo Al-Yami, stressed that the forum comes within the framework of cooperation between media institutions in Russia and the Union to discuss transformations in the international media, and the rapid developments it is witnessing towards strengthening pluralism, whether in information sources or in perspectives.
Al-Yami reviewed part of the Union’s efforts to promote news exchange between member news agencies, support the Palestinian cause in the media, and confront the bias or misinformation it is exposed to in some Western media.
Al-Yami stressed the Union’s active involvement in initiatives aimed at employing the media to promote civilizational dialogue and coexistence between religions and cultures, and to confront hate speech and Islamophobia, whether by participating in the organization of international conferences dedicated to this purpose, or by publishing and distributing media content that takes into account religious and cultural sensitivities, and contributes to spreading tolerance and rapprochement between peoples.
In this regard, Al-Yami referred to the “Media Responsibility Charter” issued at the conclusion of the International Forum: “The Role of Media in Inciting Hatred and Violence: The Dangers of Disinformation and Bias”, organized by UNA in cooperation with the Muslim World League in Jeddah on November 26, 2023, which stressed the need to combat violence, hatred and racial discrimination and refrain from publishing media materials that feed or incite extremism and terrorism.
Al-Yami noted the great support that the Union finds from the Member States, led by the host country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, within the framework of the Kingdom’s historical, renewed and sustainable keenness to support joint Islamic action in various fields.
Farit Mukhametshin, Deputy Chairman of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia-the Islamic World”, said that the forum comes within the framework of strengthening cooperation between media institutions in Russia and their counterparts in the OIC countries, referring in this regard to the memorandums of cooperation signed between the two parties, and the joint training programs that have been organized.
He stressed that Russia attaches particular importance to engagement with the OIC, given the many ties between the two sides, rooted in history.
The Acting Director of the Department of Information at the OIC General Secretariat, Dr. Abdul Hamid Salehi, explained that the forum represents a platform for sharing experiences between the participating parties, pointing out that Kazan represents a point of contact between Russia and the Islamic world.
Salehi reviewed part of the OIC’s contributions and efforts in the field of media, including launching the media strategy to address the phenomenon of Islamophobia, supporting the Palestinian cause in the media through a specialized media observatory to expose Israeli violations against Palestinians, in addition to providing live media coverage of the OIC’s conferences and events.
Salehi pointed out that the OIC accomplishes its projects in these aspects through its partnerships with the relevant media bodies and institutions, noting in this regard the partnership with the Union of OIC News Agencies, and the Union’s efforts and contributions in promoting joint Islamic action in the field of media.
Natalia Tartinova from the Permanent Mission of Russia to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation delivered the speech of the Permanent Representative of Russia to the OIC, Turko Daudov, stressing Russia’s keenness to strengthen cooperation with the OIC countries in various fields based on its presence in the OIC as an observer member.
Nurmyrat Yilkybaev, Director of Commerce of the Media Agency of Turkmenistan, stressed the importance of strengthening of relations between the media of Turkmenistan and Russia, expressing the hope that the forum will become a driving force in this regard.
Following the opening session, Mavrenkova Ekaterina, Content Director at Viory agency, gave a presentation on the establishment of the agency specialized in visual content and its endeavors to strengthen media relations with the Global South, including through building partnerships, praising in this regard the cooperation between the Agency and the Union of OIC News Agencies.
The second session of the forum discussed the topic of “Media Space between Unification and Fragmentation”, in which the Director General of the Iraqi News Agency Sattar Giad, the Director General of the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) Ali Naderi, President-Director of the Televisi Republik Indonesia TV channel (Indonesia) Iman Brotoseno, the Director of RT Arabic Maya Manna, and the Director of International Cooperation at the Sputnik News and Radio Agency Vasily Pushkov, spoke.
The forum also witnessed interventions from participating media experts and proposals to find a practical framework for organizing cooperation between media institutions in Russia and their counterparts in the Islamic world.
