Beirut: At the opening ceremony of the 21st Arab Media Forum, held under the patronage of President Joseph Aoun, Dr. Adel Abdullah Al-Wuqayan, Director General of the Arab Planning Institute in Kuwait, delivered an address emphasizing the growing interdependence between media and sustainable development across the Arab world.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, Dr. Al-Wuqayan addressed a distinguished audience that included Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Lebanese Minister of Information Dr. Paul Morcos, and Arab Media Forum Secretary-General Madi Al-Khamis. He praised Beirut for hosting the event, calling it 'a city steeped in history and culture, a beacon of Arab dialogue, thought, freedom, enlightenment, and creativity.'
Dr. Al-Wuqayan highlighted the region's current challenges, stating that Beirut serves as a platform for launching an Arab media discourse that is conscious and responsible. He described the Forum's theme 'Media and Sustainable Development: A Partnership of the Present and an Alliance for the Future' as a reaffirmation that media today is an active developmental partner guiding collective awareness toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030).
He emphasized the role of media in nation-building, noting its ability to mobilize creativity, stimulate innovation, fight poverty, empower youth and women, and reinforce values of justice, transparency, and accountability. Drawing on the Arab Planning Institute's experience, he noted that genuine sustainable development must involve conscious media development.
Dr. Al-Wuqayan outlined several initiatives by the Arab Planning Institute to integrate media and development, including empowering media professionals, developing indicators to measure media's impact on public awareness, promoting partnerships between media and development organizations, and launching joint research and training programs.
He concluded by calling for a unified Arab framework to align media efforts with sustainable development goals. He expressed gratitude to Madi Abdullah Al-Khamis for advancing Arab media's developmental role and to Lebanon for hosting the Forum, emphasizing that Arab media must be the conscience of development and the engine of transformation in the region.