Organized by the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), this two-day symposium aims to highlight the presence of women in media institutions, especially in decision-making bodies, in addition to sharing experience among women journalists in Arab news agencies.
In a message to the participants, FANA Secretary General Farid Ayar expressed his thanks and gratitude to the Kingdom of Morocco for hosting this event, as well as his sincere appreciation to MAP’s Director General and the Agency’s team for the initiative of hosting this colloquium, which comes four decades after the first edition held in 1981 in Beirut.
On the other hand, Ayar stressed that the access of women journalists working in Arab news agencies to decision-making positions “requires enormous efforts to develop the activity of the Arab media and place them at the level of advanced organizations in the world”.
She also stressed “the need to take the initiative to counter the spread of hate speech and takfirist terrorist thinking that now threatens our Arab societies and advocates the exclusion of women.”
Ayar affirmed that focusing on human beings, especially Arab media professionals, men and women, expanding their knowledge, providing them with the necessary training and making them benefit from regional and international knowledge, cultures and experiences, will certainly have a positive impact on media institutions and their performance, so that they can adequately fulfill their missions.
For his part, MAP Director General Khalil Hachimi Idrissi, in a message read on his behalf by Director of Communication and Cooperation Rachid Tijani, welcomed the participants to this symposium, which MAP is hosting for the first time.
“MAP is committed to hosting every year all the sessions programmed by the FANA General Assembly and related to women,” declared Hachimi Idrissi, adding that in order to break with the traditional organization that characterized previous symposiums, it was decided “the participation of two male journalists colleagues from the Agency”, in consecration of the “fraternity between men and women”.
The representative of UN Women in Morocco, Leila Rhiwi, welcomed the efforts made by MAP and its commitment to gender equality and the fight against all forms of discrimination, especially through its Joint Committee.
In this regard, Rhiwi highlighted the crucial role of women journalists in strengthening women’s rights and the principles of gender equality, considering that women journalists report “facts on the ground and people’s experiences, which enables them to advocate and mobilize for essential causes.”
Director of the Department of Information and Institutional Communication of the World Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Samy El Kamhawy, recalled that ICESCO has declared 2021 the Year of Women, under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, noting that the Organization implements and supports numerous programs and projects aimed at supporting women in member states.
ICESCO’s support for women did not stop with the end of the celebration year, but “has continued and will continue in deeds and words, with the increase in the percentage of women in the Organization’s leadership to reach 50% of managerial positions in ICESCO’s departments, administrations and specialized centers,” she said.
The program of the symposium, which will be attended by women journalists representing various Arab news agencies, includes two workshops on the first day and two more on the second day, as well as a visit to the exhibition and the International Museum of the Sîrah of the Prophet and Islamic Civilization at ICESCO headquarters.
