The activities of the first edition of the Jordan Media and Digital Communication Forum concluded yesterday evening, while the Secretary-General of the Jordanian Ministry of Government Communications, Dr. Zaid Al-Nawaisa, announced the recommendations of the forum.

Al-Nawaisa pointed out that the speakers and participants recommended the importance of using specialized and advanced digitization in all media, and preserving the importance of the Arabic language in light of the spread of colloquialism on social media platforms.

The participants also recommended paying attention to the huge leaps in the field of artificial intelligence, the importance of dealing with its mechanisms at the Arab level, and emphasizing the necessity of focusing on the killing and systematic destruction of all aspects of life to which our brothers in the sector are exposed. According to Al-Nawaisa, they called for reviewing study plans in media colleges in order to enhance the digital and technical skills of their students, and to support the activation of clear programs towards media education and literacy in Arab countries.

The participants reviewed the role of the media in crises, the experiences of countries, especially Jordan, in media and information literacy, and the challenges facing print newspapers in light of digital proliferation. Al-Nawaisa pointed out that the media in Jordan have made great strides in developing and modernizing their tools towards digital transformation, hoping that the forum will be an addition to the modernization and development of Arab media work.

The forum, in the presence of Arab and international media over two days, and in which more than 35 local, Arab and international speakers participated in eight sessions, discussed several topics that focused on the use of specialized and advanced digitization in all media, such as podcast programs.

Melhem reviews the reality of the Palestinian media 

In the seventh session, Dr. Ibrahim Melhem, editor-in-chief of Al Quds newspaper, reviewed the reality of the Palestinian media in light of the war of extermination waged by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip, after he called at the beginning of his speech for a minute of silence and the recitation of Al-Fatiha for the souls of the martyrs in Palestine.

Melhem said: We are going through a difficult stage for the Arab and Islamic nations, stressing that the print press is in the eye of the storm, performing its role like an old car, racing in a race with the high-speed digital press. He said: The print press has not lost its role, nor has radio replaced television.

He added: “A lot has changed in light of social media platforms and digital media in terms of content, from 2,000-word articles to short telegrams,” pointing to the huge shift from paper to tablet.

In an interesting presentation, Melhem presented examples of his writings, and pointed out the role of military censorship in deleting many words and contents, which forces the writer of the talk or editorial to repeat them three times in one night to avoid the Israeli censorship of the newspaper, which he described as the last cluster of the Palestinian press in Jerusalem.

Melhem explained that the newspaper is a history and documents events, and the Palestinian press paid a very high price in the war on Gaza and made more than 147 male and female journalists martyrs.

In his speech, Dr. Khaled Al-Shaqran, editor-in-chief of the Jordanian Al-Rai newspaper, expressed the depth of the connection and brotherhood between the two brotherly Jordanian and Palestinian peoples.

He said: "There is no neutrality in dealing with the Palestinian issue. It is the issue of the Jordanians."

He added: The Gaza war revealed the extent of international hypocrisy and exposed many Arab and international institutions.

Al-Shaqran said: The print media has declined, and the Jordanian media has gone through many challenges, and the saying is no longer “Whoever does not publish his obituary in Al-Rai is not dead,” as websites and platforms have taken on a large role and space in the scene.

For his part, Al-Dustour editor-in-chief Mustafa Al-Riyalat said: “Al-Dustour is the oldest Jordanian newspaper, and it is the first newspaper to publish its issues on WhatsApp during the Corona pandemic, as our slogan was innovation or extinction.”

On the sidelines of the forum, an exhibition was held for local, Arab and international media institutions and leading companies in the information technology and media sectors, which included a presentation of media, technological and digital products presented by these institutions. ‎