Nahyan for empowering women in media

DUBAI - Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), has said that the empowerment of women in media was crucial in order to debunk general misconceptions about their status in the Arab region and define their role in national development.

By Debasree S.

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Published: Wed 16 Apr 2003, 12:16 PM

Last updated: Wed 1 Apr 2015, 9:57 PM

The minister was speaking at the launch of the Unesco Chair in Communication Technology and Journalism for Women at the Dubai Women's College (DWC) during a function organised yesterday at the Dubai Media City.

Dr Abdalla Bubtana, Director, Unesco (Doha office) and Unesco's Gulf representative in the Arab states, Dr Awad Saleh, Secretary-General, National Commission for Unesco, UAE and Dr Howard Reed, Director of DWC, and other faculty members and students of the college were also present on the occasion.

Shaikh Nahyan lauded Unesco's interest in boosting the role of women in journalism and supporting the cause of higher education in the UAE.

"This Chair represents an important collaboration between the HCT and a major international organisation. It helps us to fulfil one of our principal higher education goals - to work closely with international institutions for mutual benefit. I am committed to strengthen the relationship between higher educational institutions in the UAE and the Unesco as well as collaborating with international organisations and institutions."

The Unesco Chair, Shaikh Nahyan said, would not only serve DWC and its students but also help create a positive environment enhancing the link between education and employment for women in the UAE.

"Education in the UAE, under the leadership and guidance of the President, His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, has become the essential bridge to the world of work and national advancement," he said.

Shaikh Nahyan also urged the private business enterprises and corporations to play a leading role in supporting higher education in the country.

The purpose of the Unesco Chair is to promote professional education and training for journalists and other media practitioners with a special interest in enabling women to develop careers in the media in the UAE and the Arab world. The Chair will support the empowerment of women in journalism and media through research programmes, training workshops, seminars, conferences and networks of local and international media practitioners.

Its long-term objectives will include increasing the knowledge and abilities of women journalists in the UAE, creating broader awareness about the contribution of women in media leading to development and nation-building and strengthening international links between regional and international women in media.

The short-term objectives will include developing an annual women's documentary film festival to tour the emirates, offering an annual Woman Journalist of the Year Award and sponsoring an international conference on women in media.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bubtana said: "We are establishing an international centre of excellence in the field of communication, which will serve in the future as a focal point for a pan-Arab network in the field. This will pave the way for DWC to be part of an international network of Unesco Chair in communication, whose secretariat is being hosted by the University of Quebec. DWC joins more than 20 Unesco Chairs in communications around the world."


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