Initiated as part of the first day of the World Government Summit (WGS) 2024, with the participation of news agencies officials and directors from the Arab region, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the meeting highlighted the role of news agencies in supporting future economies, promoting innovative business concepts and their readiness to deal with issues related to emerging economic sectors.
It also emphasised the role of media professionals in future business journalism, as well as the importance of media partnerships in boosting experience exchange and upskilling young media professionals.
Speaking on this occasion, Director-General of WAM, Mohamed Jalal Alrayssi, stressed the key role of news agencies in promoting future business concepts and conveying them to the public effectively, noting that the media sector is seeing remarkable advancements in keeping with global technological developments, with the emergence of new technologies in media work utilising artificial intelligence (AI) and data, which will shape the future of business media.
Highlighting the roundtable's outcomes, Alrayssi explained that the meeting culminated in several recommendations, including the need to train and upskill workers in news agencies and media outlets by concluding partnerships with government and private institutions concerned with business affairs to train journalists on how to deal with data and information related to contemporary economic concepts, including the green economy, digital currencies and AI.
For his part, Director-General of the Union of OIC News Agencies (UNA), Mohammed Abd Rabbo Al Yami, stressed the leading role of news agencies in spotlighting new economic models despite challenges, underscoring the need to keep pace with the shifts seen across the contemporary media sector and adapt to new technological developments.
Secretary-General of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), Dr. Farid Ayar, said that news agencies play a leading role in shaping public opinion on economic trends and the public's understanding of it, noting that most of the world's news agencies have specialised economic departments tasked with preparing economic news and reports.
Chief Executive Officer of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB), Grégoire Ndjaka, underlined the need to ensure the current capabilities of news agencies and their readiness to cover and interact with emerging economic sectors such as green energy, cryptocurrencies and industries based on AI.
The World Government Summit, which kicked off on Monday, will tackle pressing issues facing humanity in various fields, including economy, technology, artificial intelligence, sustainability, finance and education.