Op-Ed: ‘News Agencies Tolerance Charter - Turning Ambitions Into Reality

The signing of the 'News Agencies Tolerance Charter' between the Emirates News Agency, WAM, and 25 other international news agencies, is a political event, despite being classified as a professional charter of honour

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 11th Feb, 2019) The signing of the 'News Agencies Tolerance Charter' between the Emirates News Agency, WAM, and 25 other international news agencies, is a political event, despite being classified as a professional charter of honour.

The Charter which was signed on the sidelines of the first day of the World Government Summit in Dubai, is the first of its kind in the media and information technology sectors, and it took place days after Dr. Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, and Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, as well as other religious leadership signed the 'Declaration on Human Fraternity' in Abu Dhabi, which constituted an unprecedented event in modern history to inspire the beginning of a new era of tolerance in the human conscience.

The signing of the Declaration on Human Fraternity and the News Agencies Tolerance Charter coincided with the start of the 'Year of Tolerance', which the wise leadership believes is a continuation of the 'Year of Zayed', and will add to the UAE’s soft power and its top scorer record in many key areas like, humanitarian and relief aid, as well as in business administration and attracting investments.

The signing of the Charter during the summit highlights and reinforces the role of the media in promoting tolerance, as well as in shaping the future through the power of innovation.

The signatories are aware that they are partners in achieving peaceful coexistence among communities, as well as sustainable development.

The Tolerance Charter will help the media in protecting communities from incitement and hatred, which are hurdles to achieving the goals of humanity.

Youth and women also play a key role in creating media content and diversifying the tools and platforms utilised by both conventional media and digital media.

The signing of the Charter took place amidst discussions around the world on the ethics of social media, as well as how to use it as a tool for positivity and for limiting the promotion of hatred and extremism.

The inclusion of a media charter for tolerance in the summit's agenda constitutes a political precedent in "codifying" the ethics of communication and in promoting tolerance to turn ambitions into reality and predict and shape the future.