KUWAIT, April 26 (KUNA) -- Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah said Sunday evening the social media had profound impacts on the "thoughts and behaviors" of people in the Arab communities.
"Young people are always prone to such impacts," the minister said in his inaugural speech to the 12th Arab Media Forum.
The forum, themed "media and social networks," kick-started under auspices, and in the presence of, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
"Due to the transformation brought about by the information revolution in the media industry, social media are no longer just a means of conveying information but rather an influential force affecting our behaviors and styles of life," Sheikh Salman pointed out.
"Social media impact on individuals approaches to interacting with their families, societies and nations whether positively or negatively. Therefore, such approaches could be positive leverage of sustainable development or impediment to it," he argued.
Sheikh Salman said the technological trends, that have accompanied the information revolution since mid-1990s, resulted in a quantum leap in mass media and led to the emergence of the unconventional media.
"Social media networking websites enabled trans-border flow of ideas and beliefs from one community to another, thus affecting the peoples' behaviors and styles of life across the globe," he went on.
Sheikh Salman affirmed the that political leadership, on top of which are His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister, believes in the full freedom of the press and the freedom of thought as enshrined in the Kuwaiti Constitution.
"The political leadership believes also in responsible freedom that could contribute to human development, and the progress and prosperity of the country," he minister made clear.
"Therefore, all media people, whether in the government or private media institutions, have to shoulder their responsibility for promote awareness, particularly among the young people, about the best use of social networks," he went on.
The Ministry of Information, aware of the significance of social networks, set up the new media sector which constitutes a pioneering initiative in the Arab region to convey true and credible information to users of social networking websites, he added.
He urged scaling up the efforts to stem the promulgation of hate, sectarianism and extremism via the social networking websites.
On his part, Chairman of the International Islamic Charity Organization (IICO) Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq said the State of Kuwait, under His Highness the Amir, has been keen on lending a hand to peoples around the globe who might face any difficulty.
Over the last three years, Kuwait hosted three international humanitarian pledging conferences for the Syrian people which helped alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people remarkably and won the praise of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, he noted.
"The kind patronage of His Highness the Amir, the Humanitarian Leader, ensured the success of these donor conferences and Kuwaiti relief efforts for the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey," said Dr. Al-Maatouq who doubles as advisor to the Amiri Diwan.
He added that His Highness the Amir launched a personal initiative for helped the disaster-hit countries, invited the benevolent people of Kuwait to join the initiative, and bestowed the country's top orders on the pioneers of relief effort Yusuf Al-Hajji and late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait.
Meanwhile, AMF Secretary General Madhi Al-Khamees said the State of Kuwait has deservedly named as humanitarian state under the Humanitarian Leader His Highness the Amir.
On the current session of the forum, he said the transformed dramatically in keeping with the accelerated media transformations and the information technology.
"Unconventional media plays an increasing role in the world and advanced on its competitors in the media industry," Al-Khamees noted.
He voiced hope that the Arab media will contribute responsibly and credibly to cementing the national unity and combat the negative impacts of social media such as misinformation carried by some suspicious websites.
At the end of the opening session of the 12th AMF, His Highness the Prime Minister honored a number of outstanding media people, including Editor-in-Chief of the Kuwaiti Al-Anbaa daily Yusuf Al-Marzouq, Kuwaiti veteran announcer man Khaled Al-Harban and Editor-in-Chief of the Saudi Al-Jazeera daily Khaled Al-Malek.
He also honored Dr. Ali bin Tamim - of the UAE 24 online newspaper, Heba Mishari Hamada - a Kuwaiti female editor, Mo'nes Al-Murri - chairman of the Bahraini Journalists Association, and Salah-Eddin Me'awi - a Tunisian media man.
The honored also include KUNA's Deputy Director General and Chief Editor Saad Al-Ali, Dr. Barakat Al-Wuqayyan, Tareq Al-Ali, Hessa Alloghani, Eida bin Issa, Mustafa Al-Agha, Ahmad Abdulmalek and Egypt daily newspaper Al-Youm7. (end) tms.gb