The UAE Government Media Office (GMO) oversees the UAE media strategy, proposes and prepares media policies, legislation, directions and strategies, and unifies the media discourse and media messages of the UAE government locally and internationally. Emirates News Agency (WAM) is the official state news service of the UAE. The UAE’s local media cities aim to encourage international, regional and local entrepreneurs to set up offices and contribute to creating the best art they can in the form of audio, visual, print and digital. UAE holds annual media events, such as: Emirati Media Forum, Arab Media Forum and International Government Communication Forum (IGCF).
Government media offices in the UAE include:
Emirates News Agency (WAM) is the official state news service of the UAE, which began operations in 1976. WAM transmits news on national, regional and Arab affairs and has been recognised as a credible source for international media.
It maintains a network of reporters outside the UAE and operates a website (www.wam.ae) with news services in 19 languages which include English, Arabic, French, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Urdu, Sri Lankan (Sinhala), Malayalam, Indonesian, Bengali and Pashto, targeting more than 100 countries around the world.
Services of WAM
Recently, WAM launched ‘WAM Editor’ which enables journalists who work with the news agencies to publish stories from anywhere in the world via their smartphones or tablets.
In addition, it initiated ‘WAM Live Service’, which enables the public to view the latest local, regional and international breaking news through a digital interactive screen.
Other key achievements of WAM include the launch of the online portal to provide services for its strategic partners around the world and the completion of a professional manual to guarantee the implementation of international best practices in the field of media.
Local governments formed media cities to encourage international, regional and local entrepreneurs and established production and publication houses to set up offices and contribute to creating the best art they can in the form of audio, visual, print and digital.
These are free zones that offer several benefits to media and entertainment organisations; most importantly 100 per cent company ownership in a stable, tax-free environment and registration and licensing.
Media free zones include:
H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Majlis, which connects 30 government entities in Dubai. It operates under his direct supervision. The smart majlis facilitates people from various segments of society to interact and participate in the development process of the country by presenting their ideas and comments to the majlis, in addition to answering the questions posed by His Highness, exactly as they would in a traditional majlis.
Read also about Mohamed Bin Zayed Majlis For Future Generations.
Global Media Congress
The first edition of the Global Media Congress was held in Abu Dhabi in November 2022. It was organised by Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in partnership with Emirates News Agency (WAM). The event facilitated an international transfer of knowledge to the UAE and the wider GCC in the key media sectors.
The global media industry gathered in Abu Dhabi to leverage networking opportunities and take part in a pivotal conference programme sharing ground-breaking ideas and cutting-edge solutions shaping the future of the media industry.
Offering a platform for journalists, tech firms, content creators, digital marketing professionals, streaming giants, entertainment executives, regulators and key media stakeholders, Global Media Congress facilitated critical knowledge exchange and presented opportunities for business partnerships for media professionals from across the globe.
Learn more about Global Media Congress from the links below:
Other events held annually to promote best practices in the media are:
Useful links:
Since 2023, the UAE has been hosting the ‘1 Billion Followers Summit’, an event converging the world's top content creators and industry experts.
The ‘1 Billion Followers Summit’ consolidates the UAE's position as a global platform for digital content creation, and represents a qualitative leap in the development and advancement of this promising sector, in a way that enhances the UAE's global stature and positive impact on the wider media scene.
The ‘1 Billion Followers Summit’ is organised by the New Media Academy at the Emirates Towers and the Museum of the Future in Dubai.
Statistics of the last version of the summit include:
The summit has four tracks for tackling the most prominent aspects of content creation. They are:
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