DICID Organizes Third Roundtable Discussion on “Expatriate Dialogue in Local Media”

11 Mar DICID Organizes Third Roundtable Discussion on “Expatriate Dialogue in Local Media”

Speakers at an interactive discussion on “Expatriate Dialogue in Local Media” in Doha lamented the lack of venues to promote dialogue among nationals and expatriate communities in Qatar and called for diverse media initiatives to bridge this gap.

The event also heard calls to establish a supreme council for communities under the government to promote better understanding and interaction between the different communities in Qatar.

This was the third in a series of discussions organised by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) involving representatives from different expatriate communities.

The event was held in collaboration with the Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) and the Christian Churches Steering Committee.

Addressing the opening session DICID chairman Dr Ibrahim Saleh Al Nuaimi said the previous discussions had a laid a solid foundation for dialogue among different communities here.

He added that the recommendations of this meeting would be forwarded to the higher authorities for their consideration.

Ven Canon Bill Schwartz of the Christian Churches Steering Committee said the discussions had given a great opportunity for different communities living in Qatar to know each other.

Better understanding will lead to better relations between the expatriate communities and better interaction with the Qatari society.

The event featured three plenary sessions focusing on the role of media in fostering intercultural dialogue, with participation of representatives from the local media, Qatar University and the DCMC.

DCMC director Jan Keulen, in his speech, underlined the importance of free media and shed light to the active role being played by social media in promoting democratic transformation in the region.

He appreciated the efforts of the DICID in promoting interfaith dialogue, saying 25 per cent of the people surfing the net are looking for religious contents and about half of them are interested in other’s religions.

Dr Abdul Motaleb Siddique Makki, managing editor of Al Sharq daily, proposed to launch TV and radio programmes exclusively targeting expatriate communities and establish a supreme council for communities under the initiative and supervision of the government.

Citing statistics about the leading expatriate communities in Qatar, he said, despite their high number, little efforts are being done to introduce these communities to each other and to the Qatari society. They remain isolated from their own homeland as well as the country they live in.

Ways to ensure more youth involvement to support expatriate activities in the local media were also discussed. Merin Anna Thomas, business development executive of the Global Media Network said social media networks such as Facebook and twitter can be effectively utilized by the youth to introduce the activities of various expatriate communities as well as the Qatari community.

Dina Omer, a young media enthusiast working with DCMC stressed the need for bridging the communication gap between the old and young generations and spreading media education in the society.

Other speakers included Ahmed Al Sulaiti, editor-in-chief of Al Watan daily, Hassan Abu Arafat, senior journalist from Al Sharq, Teyseer Abdulllah, writer and presenter from Qatar TV, Rabia Al Kuwari and Khairuddin Khoja from Qatar University and young journalists Mohammed Al Hour and Koulouris Anna.

Honoring Interfaith Activists
During the program honoring ceremony was held as a sign of respect and appreciation to the most outstanding interfaith dialogue supporters selected by the DICID committee. DICID officials praised all those for their active efforts for enriching the dialogue between the followers of different religions and highlighting Qatar in interfaith field.
An appreciation Mementos were distributed by Prof. Ibrahim Al-Naimi, chairman of the DICID to the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR), Mr. Cheryl Krishna Menon, Dr. Mohammed Khalifa Hassan and Fr. Bill Schwartz.

During the 9th Doha Interfaith Conference, the ICTQatar was invited to participate with the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) to deliver social media training to their annual conference attendees. Qualitative Feedback indicated a very good rate of satisfaction with the training, the material and way of delivery. The attendees mentioned that the training was very beneficial learning new things to use in their campaigns. On the ictQatar behalf, Mrs. Kholoud Mohammad Al-Ali the Publications Manager received the memento.

In a sincere gesture towards communal harmony, Mr. Cheryl Krishna Menon, an NRI from Qatar, has built a spacious mosque in Kerala, India. It is the first mosque built by a Hindu in the last 1200 years. The mosque accommodate around 500 worshipers at one time. Mr. Krishna Menon is the chairman of Doha Group of Companies. He was honoured with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (NRI award) in 2006 followed by Padmashri in 2009. Committed to religious harmony, he runs a Bhagwad Gita awareness programme in India.

Dr. Mohammed Khalifa Hassan is a director of Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal which is one of many centers under umbrella of Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (Qatar Foundation). Established in 2007, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) is an international center for Islamic thinking and dialogue. The DICID has been working on various projects with Dr. Mohammed Khalifa for the last few years, among them is also our recent project ‘Qualifying Muslims in Interfaith Dialogue’.

Fr. Bill Schwartz is from Omaha, Nebraska. He travelled to Egypt as a university student in the fall of 1972 for a “term abroad” studying Egyptian history and culture – and was offered the job of administrating the Egypt programme during the 1973-74 school year. In the summer of 1977, when he moved to Cyprus to assist in establishing a Christian youth ministry for Arab young people. That led to involvement in media work and other kinds of Christian ministry, until joining the Bishop’s staff as diocesan administrator in the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf in Nicosia in 1989. He studied for ordination in Cyprus and Wales, and was ordained as an Anglican priest in London in 1993, while continuing to serve the diocese as administrator in Nicosia. In 1999 he moved to Saudi Arabia where he lived until moving to Doha in October 2007. Fr. Bill Schwartz is active member of Church Steering Committee in Qatar.