March 18, 2019
Chairman and CEO of AFP to Deliver Keynote Address at 18th Edition of Arab Media Forum
Main Dialogue Session to Feature Arab Ministers of InformationThe Forum will kick off in Dubai on March 27, 2019 at DWTC
Dubai Press Club (DPC) today announced that Fabrice Fries, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agence France-Presse (AFP) will be the keynote speaker at the 18th edition of the Arab Media Forum (AMF) organised from March 27-28 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The region’s leading annual event for the media industry is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The keynote session, to be moderated by TV Presenter Zeina Yazigi, will shed light on the role of news agencies and global information and the extent to which the rapidly changing media landscape has impacted the status of newswires as the primary source of information. The session will also address the influence of news agencies and their relationship with their sources as well as the media institutions benefiting from their services. In his keynote speech, Fries will share his vision for the future of AFP and the opportunities for newswire services in the next few years.
Dubai Press Club, organiser of the Arab Media Forum, also revealed that the main dialogue session this year will feature top government officials, including two ministers of information affairs.
Participants in the session, who include His Excellency Ali bin Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Minister of Information Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain; Her Excellency Jumana Ghunaimat, Minister and Government Spokesperson, Ministry of State for Media Affairs, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; and His Excellency Hussein Zein, President of the National Media Authority, Arab Republic of Egypt, will discuss the current Arab media landscape and examine ways to boost the development of the media sector, in light of recent political, economic and social changes.
Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri, President of DPC and Chairperson of AMF’s Organising Committee said: “The Arab Media Forum seeks to identify the various factors and developments shaping the media landscape in the Arab world. Every year, we bring together leading regional and international media personalities to discuss and analyse current media realities. We are pleased to host a main dialogue session with top media officials from three neighboring Arab countries, which will give us a glimpse into their perspectives on the future of Arab media.” Al Marri also welcomed the participation of Fabrice Fries, who heads one of the world’s top news agencies, as the keynote speaker this year.
Key Sessions
During the main dialogue session, titled ‘A Session with Arab Ministers’, panelists will assess the role of media ministries and media regulatory bodies in guiding media towards serving societies and achieving their future aspirations. The session, to be moderated by Naoufer Ramoul, Anchor, Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), will also look at ways to enhance the Arab media discourse and identify a new media strategy that is aligned with recent developments.
In the keynote session titled “The Future of News Agencies”, Fries will discuss the future role of news agencies, and their efforts to respond to the new media environment and maintain their position as the primary source of news. The session will also discuss the role of news agencies in fighting the phenomenon of fake news, rumours and false information on the web, especially on social media platforms. For many years, AFP has been seeking to combat the proliferation of false information online with ambitious projects focused on fact-checking and detecting fake content.
Fabrice Fries
Fabrice Fries, 58, took up his post as Chairman and CEO of AFP on April 12, 2018, succeeding Emmanuel Hughes. Fries was previously a top executive at French media group Vivendi and advertising firm Havas. He studied at Berkeley and Harvard in the United States as well as France's elite Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA), and led Publicis Consultants until 2016.
Founded in Paris in 1835, Agence France-Presse (AFP) is the world's oldest news agency, and the third largest news agency after the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters. AFP's 201 bureaus cover 151 countries across the world, with 80 nationalities represented among its 2,296 collaborators. The Agency operates regional hubs in five geographical zones and has an office in Dubai.
Running this year under the theme ‘Arab Media: From Now to the Future’, the two-day event is expected to draw the participation of over 3,000 prominent regional and international media figures and thought leaders.
