Media is very important to spread tolerance messages – WAM director general

Nurzhan during the interview with WAM Director General Al Rayssi

By Nurzhan Kasmalieva 

ABU DHABI: Media is very important to spread messages of tolerance, Director General of the Emirates News Agency (WAM) Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi told Kabar.

In an interview about the future of the media industry, Al Rayssi noted the importance of such platform as the Global Media Congress, the high-profile media event held last week in Abu Dhabi

“I think we can see how important it is to build a place where we can talk together and build a network together and try not only to think about the future, but also to think how we can have a connection with the world. So that’s a very important thing,” he said.

“We are trying to come together with the new initiatives that can fit in the future of the media. We are happy that we are having people from around the world here talking about their experiences, sharing information and concern, coming up with a new idea, giving the chance to young generations to be trained, to give them the opportunity to be ready for the future.”

The UAE can play a good role in bringing people together and have the opportunity to form a clear vision about the future of the media, Al Rayssi said.

Speaking about tolerance and coexistence, the director general of WAM highlighted the role of media in spreading messages of tolerance.

“As media, we have to go back to our human natural, which is we are all humans, we have differences and we have common things. Why do we always focus on differences? Why we don’t focus on the common things that we share. So, tolerance and coexistence are important for us all in the media, because when you use words in the media that create hatred between people, between countries or nationalities, between colors, they remain with the people and create a lot of problems, a lot of crimes, a lot of hate.”

Al Rayssi: Media should spread tolerance, coexistence

The media is very important for spreading messages of tolerance and news should not focus only on problems, wars, crises and should show stories of tolerance human stories, success stories, positive stories, he added.

“Such an approach creates a different kind of human. When we wake up in the morning and see bad news, we might spend all day in a bad mood. If we have good news every day, our mood will change and we will have a positive energy for work, for anything,” Al Rayssi said.