The Board of Directors of the National Media Council, NMC, met yesterday at the NMC’s Abu Dhabi headquarters and discussed the Digital Media Framework, which is set to go into effect next year.

The framework seeks to promote the UAE's values of tolerance, co-existence, respect for others and rejecting violence and all forms of hate and extremism. The system outlines a set of general principles, frameworks and standards for digital media that are aligned with the UAE’s national policies of serving the public and respecting the religious, cultural and social values of the country, all the while maintaining freedom of speech and promoting constructive interaction in all digital media outlets, including newspapers, e-zines, online publishing houses, advertising websites and news sites.

"The Digital Media Framework is poised to develop and bolster the legislative infrastructure of the media sector in the UAE, keeping up with the sector’s rapid evolution and its increasingly prominent role as a primary source of information," said Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the Board of Director of the NMC as he presided over the meeting.

Al Jaber added, "The system will undoubtedly contribute to enhancing e-content and boost its reliability. New media is an important platform for spreading the UAE’s positive message; it is a key tenet of its soft power strategy. With that in mind, the Digital Media Framework provides a fertile environment to advance and develop media content that is balanced, responsible, respects individual privacy and protects society from any negative effects."

The meeting also touched on the NMC’s achievements, which have contributed to improving the quality of services provided to the council’s strategic partners, as well as the expansion of the Emirates News Agency, WAM, to cover eight languages, spoken by more than four billion people across the world.

The board went on to explore the media sector’s contributions to the #Year of Giving initiative, whereby media professionals all around the UAE took on volunteer work and promoted humanitarian initiatives.

They lauded the #Journalists for Good initiative, which resulted in 100,000 hours of volunteer work in charities across the UAE and abroad, as well as the #Walk to Give initiative, which attracted more than 2,000 UAE-based journalists and media professionals.

The NMC then discussed preparations for the #Year of Zayed initiative, launched by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the role that the media can play in supporting the initiative’s nation-wide activities, promoting its messages and engaging the community.

The council applauded the UAE’s successful participation at Expo 2017 Astana, where the UAE pavilion reflected Emirati culture, as well as the country’s ambitious strategy to diversify the economy and lead the future energy sector, before moving on to Expo 2020 Dubai preparations, where the NMC has been tasked with supervising the construction and operation of the UAE Pavilion.