The International Conference on Information and Development Communication concludes its work

At the conclusion of the International Conference, participants called “Information and development communication… Roles in the service of development “Yesterday evening, the first of the Moroccan city of Efran over two days, to draw a new road map for development media to cope with the global economic crises in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the repercussions of conflicts in burning regions around the world.

Organized by the Laboratory for Literary and Linguistic Studies, Media Sciences and Communication, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Sidi Mohammed bin Abdullah University, in partnership with the International Academy for the Development of Information and Communication, and the Efran Earth Group (Municipal Council), recommended intensifying development media courses in the programmes of media institutes to prepare specialized personnel in the fields of development information institutions.

The conference, which saw the participation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Beit Mal Al-Quds Al-Sharif Agency, recommended the promotion of development information as a knowledge-producing sector and the strengthening of cooperation and communication between public institutions working in the field of development and media institutions.

The conference, in which Morocco, Yemen, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman participated, called for the organization of formative activities to provide media professionals, actors and researchers with communication skills to address development issues, as well as the achievement of an Arab observatory on media and development communication, and scientific research to determine the extent of the media’s contribution to development goals.

The Conference also urged national institutions and development organizations to expand their relationship with the media in promoting awareness of development issues, as well as to call on social media influencers to contribute to the dissemination of community awareness of the importance of development issues.

The Conference commended Morocco’s development experience and called on media and communication organizations to intensify coverage and dissemination of development plans and to play their mandated role in communicating information to society.

Through its discussions, the Conference sought to strengthen professional linkages between the information and communication sections of national and international donor institutions and organizations, and to provide media professionals with development information skills.

Speakers addressed the role of information centres for international organizations, including the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the role of education, science and culture projects in sustainable development, information, communication and development, information and institutional communication, digital content through social communication and development issues, marketing of digital content for development projects, and partnerships between development and media institutions and society.