RIYADH — The third edition of the Saudi Media Forum, which seeks to develop the media industry, will take place in Riyadh from February 19 to 21, 2024. This was announced by the Saudi Media Forum President and CEO of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) Mohammed Al-Harthi during a ceremony held by SBA to celebrate the World Television Day. The Saudi Media Forum 2024, organized by SBA in cooperation with the Saudi Journalists Association, comes as a continuation of the success witnessed in both the first and second edition of the forum. The third edition comes as a confirmation on the importance of the forum and its effective role in achieving a positive impact, and exploring the latest technologies in this field, in addition to creating a vital and effective community for exchanging local and international experiences in the media field. Furthermore, the forum will enhance Saudi Arabia's position in the media field, as it will shed light on the most prominent local and international media experiences. Al-Harthi expressed his thanks for Saudi Media Minister Salman Al-Dosary for his support and care in everything that serves the media system in Saudi Arabia. He confirmed the importance of keeping pace with the world media to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which gives a great care for the media role by holding major forums and meetings. "This confirms the state of civilization that Saudi Arabia is experiencing in terms of intellectual growth and cultural depth, in addition to openness and moving forward achieving the principle of acceptance, coexistence, and exchange of experiences through a global media forum,"Al-Harthi said. Al-Harthi underscored the necessity of building and documenting communication bridges with all local and international media establishments in order to make a positive impact. "Holding such specialized media events will contribute to increasing the quality of the media industry, and pushing them to keep pace with the latest technologies in this constantly changing industry," he said. The activities of the forum will also include the Future of Media Exhibition "FOMEX", which is a technical and media event, Al-Harthi said, noting that it is considered as the largests exhibition of its kind in the Middle East. FOMEX exhibition will present the latest experiences in the media industry, as well as the modern television and radio production activity, In addition, it will showcase the rapid pace of media transformations by attracting leading companies and expertise in the field of global production. The event is also considered as an opportunity for those who are passionate in the media fields, as they will witness the holding of a number of qualitative and specialized workshops presented by a group of specialists, academics and practitioners who possess experience and competence in various areas of media work. Al-Harthi said the Authority was keen to include the target groups in the forum and the accompanying exhibition, as it believes that modern media is no longer limited to media institutions only as was the case in the past, but everyone who has the ability and the tool that enables them to communicate with others, can deliver their media message. The forum concludes by crowning the male and female winners of the Saudi Media Forum Award in its 3rd edition, which is awarded with each session of the forum. The six award categories are: Journalism category; Audio-visual production category; Scientific production category in the media field; Digital media category; Innovation and leadership category in the media field; and Media excellence award category. The Authority was keen to diversify the award's categories to include all media forms, thus providing a greater opportunity for every person interested in being nominated for the award. This award comes from the Authority's belief in the importance of honoring those who are effective in local and regional media work, in a way that creates fair competition between male and female innovators in this field. The award also stimulates media competencies from both individuals and groups to present distinguished media works, which would contribute to introducing the pioneering Saudi experiences in the field of media and communication. It also comes as an appreciation for the personalities who contribute to the media, thus enhancing their presence locally and in the Arab world.
