The Kingdom of Bahrain on Thursday unveiled a five-year media strategy aimed at ensuring the freedom of press as well as positioning media sector as one of the key pillars of the country’s future progress, development and sustainability.
Information Affairs Authority President Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa launched the five year media strategy 2011-16 that tops its priority list reinforcement of freedom of press and media.
The strategy also focuses on the further enhancement of the media’s message on the basis of truth, transparency, fairness and sustainability towards encouraging creativity and media development in light of mutual respect of opinion.
This strategy is to also to be committed to ethical values and be within the framework of Bahrain Economic Vision 2030. The statement came during Shaikh Fawaz’s regular meetings with journalists and media personnel in the kingdom that comes within the framework the IAA’s keenness on the continuation of meetings reinforcing various sides of partnership and cooperation between it and the local press. This exchange of opinion and meetings is based on the wise leadership’s principles of dialogue and positive interaction by official bodies with various media and civic establishments, as one of the fruits of the reform project of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Shaikh Fawaz also stated that the government has allocated BD 5 million for the development scheme, confirming that three Media offices have already been opened in the USA, the United Kingdom and Egypt and the candidates will be named in a week’s time. IAA President also asserted that IAA has set up a number of projects and programmes aiming to intensify communication with foreign media institutions in order to highlight the kingdom’s landmark achievements and debunk fallacies and distortion policies adopted by a number of unprofessional media establishments.
IAA President said that main aims of the media strategy are represented in achieving community partnership, supporting media quality and technology along with encouraging human competence. In addition to that the strategy’s objectives he said is to diversify financial competence through the encouraging of investment in the media field aimed at targeting national identity and elevating Bahraini media on the world map.
Shaikh Fawaz said that during the media strategy from 2011 to 2016 the IAA would transform into a strategic media authority that depends in its message on creativity in the quality of performance and media organizing toward reinforcing national identity and Bahrain’s world status. He highlighted that the development of human resources in media and press establishments, the improvement of capabilities along with modernization of infrastructure would be at the forefront of the authority’s priorities. This he affirmed was only possible through the continued and full support of His Royal Highness the Premier Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander towards the further elevation of media with the framework of His Majesty the King’s reform project. With regards to the media strategy during the period between 2011 to 2016, the advisor for development at the IAA Fatima Al Thawadi said that the authority aims towards achieve several objectives represented in achieving community partnership, supporting media quality and technology along with encouraging human competence. Al Thawadi emphasized the strategy also includes supporting media quality and technology along with encouraging human competence. In addition to that the strategy’s objectives he said are to diversify financial competence through the encouraging of investment in the media field. Moreover, the focus also lies with the parameters of achieving media quality and gaining partners’ trust both official and investors taking into consideration media producers