Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 26th February: American University in the Emirates held its first edition of the Media forum yesterday at the campus in Dubai Academic city. The panel, organized by the university’s College of Media and Communication, focused on the power of media, the various trends seen in the media industry and the future of the media industry and business. The event saw leading names from the region join in as the honorary audience and panelists. Respected government officials, local journalists, entrepreneurs were seen to join a number of media professionals at the event.

Prominent speakers included  Emirati director and actor Habib Ghuloom, Media Real Estate Expert Mohanad Al Wadiya, President of the Economic Forum for Sustainable Development, Prof. Manahel Thabet, Initiative Manager at Mohammed Bin Rashed Smart Majlis, Mohamed AlFalasi, Iraqi Presenter and Producer Mays Anbar and Life Coach and Presenter Mais Mohammed.

The forum began with a welcome speech by Dr. Muthanna Ghani Abdul Razzaq, President and Dean of the American University in the Emirates. “We are all well-aware of the importance of media in our day-to-day lives. It also has a major role to play in influencing the young minds. Not restricted to TV and radio alone, today media has a world of its own, its secrets, and fundamentals. Today it is a changed reality, with greater audience reach, more influence over people, through platforms like YouTube, Instagram amongst more, which do bring about a unique perception of various subjects and result in radical changes in our beliefs.”

“We must pay attention to the media colleges, research on existing media issues, the growing power of social media and the use of quality content, with inspirations and ideas that can be followed by our youth and help them in decision making.” He added.

The media forum also highlighted a number of key topics from the power media has over people now to the change from traditional media outlets to the much popular influencer marketing, Regional Instagram influencers and media personalities, presenter Mays Anber, life coach Mais Mohammed, presenter Asallah Kamel were seen to discuss various elements to the topic.

American University in the Emirates, founded in 2006, is known as a leading educational institutions. The university with a motto that says “Nothing is impossible” is keen to bring about awareness in regards to the changing media scene. AUE looks forward to hosting more of such conferences and media forums that facilitate the discussion and sharing of a professional perception, enriching students minds and impacting their values and beliefs towards media.