The “Leadership and Media During Crises” forum has called for the creation of a new authority to combat fake news in the Arab world, as well as a more harmonised message from media institutions during times of crises, and new mechanisms for co-ordinating and unifying the efforts of security and media authorities.
The security and media sector leadership that participated in the Forum, which was organised by the Dubai Police General Command and the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, and represented by the Crisis and Senior Leadership Development Centre, presented their appreciation to Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for hosting the Forum and facilitating its work in Dubai.
The participants of the Forum, which was held at the Dubai Police Officers Club in Al Garhoud, valued the efforts of the Arab League and its various counsels, as well as their role in the Forum. They also highlighted the potential benefits from the Arab Crisis Management Network of the General Secretariat of the Arab League, in the field of exchanging expertise and strengthening institutional abilities.
They stressed the necessity of developing positive relations between the media and security sectors, as well as strengthening the trust between them, so those working in security can understand the professionalism of the media while those working in the media can appreciate the responsibility of security personnel, to create a common positive space for joint work during times of crises.
They also highlighted the necessity of countering fake news after identifying its reasons, sources and effects, as well as the effective co-ordination between the media and security to achieve this task.
The participants stressed the importance of choosing media speakers based on specific standards that include nominating the best speakers in terms of culture, eloquence and strong intuition, as well as preparing training programmes to develop their communication skills and interactions with media tools.
They also stressed the importance of the Forum’s main topic while calling on academic institutions in the Arab world that specialises in security, notably the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, to organise specialised scientific forums throughout the entire year and develop the skills and abilities of those dealing with the media during times of crises, as well as promote the subject of “crises media” in academic institutions around the Arab world.
They also highlighted the importance of the positive and responsible role of media tools in dealing with crises during their numerous stages while guided by the “Media Honour Code”, which is regulated by the Arab Ministers of Media Council, while stressing the importance of adopting a balanced media to successfully deal with crises.