'GCC should encourage youth to use social media'

Arab youth can be guided to use media for positive initiatives, according to Kuwaiti Minister of Information, Sheikh Salman Sabah Al Salem Al Humoud Al Sabah.

Sheikh Salman, who is also Minister in charge of Youth, advanced the idea while discussing ‘Arab Media 2015: A GCC Perspective’ on Tuesday on day one of the two-day Arab Media Forum (AMF), now in its 14th edition at Madinat Jumeirahin Dubai. The session was moderated by the Editor-in-Chief of Emarat Al Youm newspaper Sami Al Reyami.

He said Kuwait has engaged its youth to start positive initiatives with considerable success. "In 2013 for example, we registered 150 youth initiatives, most of them in regard to volunteerism."

Sheikh Salman said: "We consider the space open; therefore, we need to deal with this guest – the new media - with acceptance and thus use it to forge developmental partnership."

He said 86 per cent of the youths between 14 to 34 years use Internet and 75 per cent of the youths read news via Internet.

Sheikh Salman expressed dismay that some people abuse "our regional principles and our leadership through online medium."

However, Sheikh Salman said the "traditional and government media still play a very important role in Kuwait as they are on the forefront of promoting the country’s policies, interests and economic affairs."

On how the Gulf countries can channel the media to better utilisation, he said; "We need to borrow the words of (the Kuwaiti Amir) Sheikh Al Sabah which he said in 2009 during the GCC summit in Kuwait: ‘The challenges we face today require collective action. We should have joint vision and unified strategies that suit our region to push forward development.’'

He said the vision "is very clear: having the Gulf influence and rescind the negative image under which we are viewed."

Train in nw media

He asked media experts and research centres to "enhance the role of media especially the new media in society" suggesting that the role should put much emphasis on training young people in better ways of using the new media.

"We should also have observation centres to evaluate what we are doing in this aspect, not forgetting promotion of culture and education in the media."