OIC to the Preparatory Meeting for the ICIM : “We are Facing Challenges that Place us before our Responsibility to Deliver our Message in a Well-thought out Discourse”
The Senior Officials Preparatory Meeting for the 12th session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers, held in Istanbul, Türkiye, under the theme of “Combating Disinformation and Islamophobia in the Post-Truth Era”, kicked off on October 21, 2022.
At the beginning of the meeting, H.E. Dr. Khalid Al-Ghamdi, Undersecretary for International Media Relations at the Saudi Ministry of Information, handed over the chairmanship of the meeting to H.E. Dr. Oguz CANER, Director-General of Public Diplomacy at the Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye.
Ambassador Youssef Al-Dubaie, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, delivered a statement at the opening session of the meeting, in his capacity as representative of H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary-General of the OIC. He noted that the draft resolution submitted to this session covers several significant media messages. The resolution, he added, will be comprehensive, unlike the case in previous sessions where decisions were presented individually. It addresses various themes and issues that are of vital importance to Member States as well as to the OIC General Secretariat and its media institutions. Foremost among those themes are the role of the media in supporting the Cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif; the media program designed to highlight the status of the African continent; support for the project to launch the OIC satellite channel; support for joint Islamic action institutions in the media field; the project to launch the OIC international Award for media institutions and professionals in the area of promoting dialogue, tolerance and harmony among cultures.
Ambassador Al-Dubaie noted that the Conference is being held at a time when the Islamic Ummah is facing huge challenges that target its identity and societies and hamper its advancement and development, amid an unprecedented, ever-accelerating digital media revolution. This requires the media to rise to the huge responsibility of delivering the message of the Islamic world with a balanced and well-thought out discourse, and in a manner that is understood by the Other and that reflects the sublime nature and noble values of Islam, and the high morals of its adherents.
Ambassador Al-Dubaie concluded by thanking the leadership, government and people of the Republic of Türkiye for hosting the current session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers. He also extended thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chair of the Islamic Summit, and to HRH Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, for the continuous support to all the OIC activities.
Source: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation