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Abu Dhabi: The age of glorifying officials has ended and the media should be balanced, the director-general of the National Media Council told Gulf News on Wednesday.
Ebrahim Al Abed, who spoke to Gulf News on the sidelines of the National Identity forum, said more time was needed to deal with the media in Emirati society.
"There is no official ban on writing on issues such as labour protests and citizenship. The level of freedom of the press is high, but if there is self-censorship among newspapers, we can't change that unless journalists have the courage to cross what they think is banned.
"We are working on training the media to be more daring and for officials to also have the courage to speak up. Education and awareness will lead to more press freedom. This cannot be achieved without cooperation between society and the media. The media's role is not only to highlight achievements but it's also meant to point out mistakes and evaluate too."
He pointed to the decision taken by the Cabinet to study the labour situation based on "media criticism."
"The age of glorifying officials has ended and we are looking for a balanced media," he said.
During the forum he told delegates that the media needed to play an active role in preserving the Arabic language and national identity.
"We are in need of more religious programmes, beyond Ramadan's timing. These programmes help promote and protect our religious values, family values and work ethic."
Delegates were united in asserting the media's role as a vehicle for promoting cultural identity. One of the speakers, Ahmad Salem, is a former reporter who is passionate about the role of journalists in this challenge.
"Our language, in its dialect and pronunciation, is a symbol of our culture. It must be preserved. Nothing threatens our national identity more than the media. For every Arabic television station we have five in other languages," Salam said.
"People don't understand the power of journalists. They are the gatekeepers of knowledge. Their roles are under appreciated."
Journalists are simply not paid lucrative salaries which has kept many Emiratis out of the newsroom, he said.
The solution, according to Salam, "is to develop more strategies to draw nationals into the newsroom.
The two-day conference, which started on Tuesday, is being organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community. According to an interview with the director of the conference, Bassem Al Otaiby, there will be steps taken for a follow-up.
Culture, said because a large number of expatriates did not speak Arabic the national language was under threat.
According to official statistics about 1.8 million of the total population are Indians, and about one million are Pakistanis, both nationalities use Urdu while English is the connection between them and Arabic speakers.
He said the use of English in daily life had weakened Arabic.
French Ambassador to the UAE, Patrice Paoli spoke about the French experience to protect their language. He said, "What makes us French, in addition to the passport, is speaking French, which is the main element of identity."
He said preserving language does not involve being a closed culture. "When we defend our language we defend the right to use our own expression.
"The proper use of the national language leads us to be open to other cultures and to avoid clashes with them," he said.
- Eman Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
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