President of Qatar University, H E Dr. Hassan bin Rashid Al Derham; Director-General of Al Jazeera Media Network, Dr. Mostefa Souag; Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Professor Ahmed ElZatahry, with other officials during the event.
The Department of Mass Communication of Qatar University in coordination with Al Jazeera Public Liberties and Human Rights Centre hosted a panel discussion on the topic of media coverage of refugees and human rights issues, media issues and transitional justice.
President of Qatar University (QU), H E Dr. Hassan bin Rashid Al Derham, and Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network, Dr. Mostefa Souag, inaugurated the event. The symposium was also held as Qatar University’s honouring of Al Jazeera Network on the occasion of its Silver Jubilee. Two research papers were presented by Head of the Department of Mass Communication at Qatar University Dr. Kamal Hamidou and Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Shami.
In his key note speech, Dr. Hassan bin Rashid Al Derham praised the important role played by the Al Jazeera Media Network in promoting freedoms and supporting a culture of human rights through various media programmes, and communication with all local and international institutions that support legislation related to human rights issues.
“The common interest between Qatar University and Al Jazeera Media Network in human rights issues reflects the strong will that we see in the directions of the State of Qatar under its wise leadership Ami H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,” said Dr. Al Derham.
He said that it seeks not only to spread the culture of human rights within Qatari society rather makes human rights an essential component of the construction and renaissance movement for Qatar to become one of the most important countries that bear the responsibility of defending human rights in the world.
Dr. Al Derham noted that this symposium is the fruit of a distinguished partnership between Qatar University and the Al Jazeera Media Network which comes in implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed by the two parties, which allows for the creation of integration between the two institutions in the media and research fields and enables them to play their role in comprehensive community development.
For his part, Dr. Mostefa Souag, thanked Dr. Hassan bin Rashid Al Derham, for the honour, considering it a tribute to a well-established media organization that has exceeded 25 years. He also considered it as an important honour because it comes from the university, and the university is the center of knowledge and the center of science from where comes the necessary cooperation between Qatar University and Al Jazeera Media Network.
Dr. Souag expressed his happiness for organising the symposium as it activates the communication that must be between an institution that has become a long-standing institution such as Al Jazeera and an academic institution like Qatar University. He noted the importance of building bridges between the various universities in Qatar and the various media institutions.
Dr. Souag said that Al Jazeera is one of the rare institutions in the world that, at an early stage, attached great importance, in its editorial policies, to the issue of public freedoms and human rights. He said that since its inception, Al Jazeera has been keen to open an office within the channel that takes care of these topics, and that office later became the Al Jazeera Public Liberties and Human Rights Centre.
Qatar University Vice-President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Omar Al Ansari, lauded the symposium, which he said “is an effective engagement by Qatar University in the path pursued by the State of Qatar in order to spread the culture of human rights within Qatari society, and in order to defend human values at the regional and international levels”.
He expressed his happiness with the existing cooperation between Qatar University and Al Jazeera Media Network, which are bound by a cooperation agreement that is expected to take on a stronger and broader dimension in the future.
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Professor Ahmed ElZatahry, said the seminar represents a role model of fruitful partnership that employs scientific research in the service of the programmes of media institutions in order to reach the international standards required in addressing human rights issues related to human rights.
Dr. Kamal Hamidou highlighted the multiple areas of cooperation between Department of Mass Communication and Al Jazeera Media Network, which contributes positively in qualifying a new generation of media professionals capable of keeping pace with changes and actively contributing to the production of advanced and useful media content that contributes to the development of societies. The symposium, which was broadcast on Al Jazeera Mubasher, was organised on the occasion of the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It was a great success in terms of the quality of interventions and attendance, as many academics interested in media and human rights issues participated in it, in addition to the presence of representatives of many local and international associations specialised in defending human rights and public freedoms.
