Saudi filmmakers and researchers discussed Sunday the role of the cinema in forging national identity and the role of other forms of communication in strengthening a sense of cultural belonging. The Communications Technology and Social Change Conference in Riyadh hosted a variety of speakers addressing related themes. Researcher and film director Abdullah Al-Muhaisen said during the presentation of his paper, entitled “Cinema: Its Status in the Kingdom and Role in Strengthening National Identity”, that the cinema contributed greatly to the development of a strong national identity. Al-Muhaisen's paper looked at definitions of the art of cinema, cinema as a tool of cultural expression, and a study of the relationship between cinema and national identity. Thoraiya Ahmad Al-Badawi presented a lecture called, “The Communication Revolution and its Role in Enhancing Arab Cultural Identity”, while Khaleel Ahmad Khaleel discussed the role of communication in strengthening national identity. Khaleel looked at problems in Arab social communication, verbal communication, the authority of the media, the variety of Arabic tongues, and major and minor identities. Tariq Khaleel Ahmad discussed the extent to which communications determine national identity and their ability to fulfill the void in some societies that still follow the concept of language-based identity and not political or state identity.
