The State of Qatar participated in the first meeting of the Arab Media Excellence Award Committee in its 9th edition, held Monday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League in Cairo. The State of Qatar was represented in the meeting by Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the Arab League Maryam Ahmed Al Shibi. Al Shibi underlined, in her speech during the meeting, the importance of the role of the media in light of the crises and intertwined and interconnected challenges witnessed by the Arab world, referring in this context in particular to the tragic events and deteriorating humanitarian conditions witnessed by the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli aggression. She stressed the need to support Arab media initiatives in confronting the misleading and distorting facts practiced by some media outlets, noting that the media has become an effective weapon, whether for destruction or construction. In this regard, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the State o f Qatar to the Arab League called for making the Arab Media Excellence Award a factor for construction, reform, development, and evaluation as well, expressing her thanks to the State of Kuwait for its efforts in sponsoring and supporting this award. She also appreciated the efforts of the Technical Secretariat of the Council of Arab Information Ministers for following up on the work of the award in terms of editing and preparation, which resulted in positive interaction with it by member states. In a related context, Ambassador Ahmed Rashid Khattabi, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Media and Communication Sector at the Arab League explained in a statement published by the Arab League that the 9th Arab Media Excellence Award will be held under the slogan "Arab Youth and New Media," where applications for the award will begin from October 1 until March 31, 2025. Khattabi added that the conditions for applying for the award and the target groups will be announced via the Arab League's official we bsite, stressing that the connection of youth issues with the profound transformations in the media scene is among the concerns of the Council of Arab Information Ministers due to the increasing interaction of youth with digital communication media and the extent of their impact on their societal and cultural behaviors and intellectual trends. The General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Information Ministers launched the Arab Media Excellence Award in 2015 as one of the activities it organizes to celebrate Arab Media Day, which falls on April 21 of each year, where a specific topic is determined to win this award, which is granted to Arab media institutions and media professionals who have presented distinguished media works that serve the issues of the Arab world. The award includes 4 main categories, including radio, television, newspaper, and electronic media works, and several sub-categories. Source: Qatar News Agency