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Kingdom to Make All Possible Efforts to Improve Its Global Image
Saudi Arabia will make all possible efforts to improve its international image with the support of friendly countries as well as foreign organizations and institutions, Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari said here yesterday.
| You mean you're going to institute religious freedom; treat women like they're lovely creatures with not only minds and aspirations and abilities of their own, but also the possessors of what men most desire; venerate achievement and despise parasites, to include certain holy men; and protect the weak from the rapacious? |
Opening the second annual communication forum titled "The image of Saudi Arabia in the world", organized by the Saudi Association for Media & Communication (SAMC), Anqari said the anti-Saudi media campaigns were targeting the Kingdom's institutions and values. "Since the Sept. 11 events, Saudi Arabia has been facing strident media campaigns that vied with one another to tarnish the Kingdom's international image and tried to discredit its values and institutions," the minister said in his keynote address.
| It's values don't include anything resembling individual liberty and its institutions are rooted in absolute rule... |
More than 100 prominent personalities from within and outside Saudi Arabia are taking part in the four-day forum. They include delegates from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan in addition to their counterparts from Arab and Gulf states. "This forum seeks to study the situation of the Kingdom's image in the world and work out strategies to project its true image at political, media, cultural and social levels inside and outside the country," the minister said.
| Send me a coupla mil and I'll work out a program for you. You won't like what you have to do, though. Though the turban in the street might... |
He said the Saudi leadership had always tried to preserve the Kingdom's image. "This state gives Islamic values utmost consideration and strives for improving the image of its institutions," he added. "We will work with our friends in the world to highlight the true picture of Saudi Arabia, the qibla of Islam and Muslims and the heart of the Arab world," he said and called upon Saudi youth to keep away from activities that would tarnish the image of Islam and their country.
| "Yeah. Don't be doin' that stuff here. Go to Iraq or someplace..." |
Anqari said the Higher Education Ministry was making contacts with educational agencies and institutions in other countries to correct the distorted picture of Saudi Arabia. "These efforts have started yielding fruit and we are continuing these efforts," he added. He said the ministry would transfer the researches and recommendations of the forum to relevant organizations in the West after translating them. He emphasized the role of Saudi men and women in presenting the true picture of their country to the outside world.
| You'll have a new image when you have women cops busting the worst titty bars in Riyadh. You'll have a new image when you have Soddy comedians making fun of the imams and princes on national terriblevision. You'll have a new image when you open the King Fahd Technical Training school to turn out your own plumbers, electricians, and carpenters. You'll have a new image when the Prince Nayef Memorial Dance Hall opens in Jeddah. You'll have a new image when you lay the cornerstone of the Great Cathedral of Mecca. |
Dr. Ali ibn Shuwail Al-Qarni, chairman of SAMC, said the forum would have 12 sessions, three discussion sessions and a final open dialogue, saying that they would deal with all issues and topics to promote the Kingdom's global reputation. He stressed the importance of improving the Kingdom's image abroad as it plays an essential role in shaping and directing public opinion. "The recent international events have made it all the more important to study the conceptual image held by the countries around the world about the Kingdom and the factors contributing to its development," he said. He said SAMC's second forum was dedicated to investigating the conceptual image of the Kingdom around the world. "It is hoped that such experiences will benefit us in recommending information programs to improve the image of the Kingdom around the world," he said.
| If you had individual liberty in your country, you wouldn't have to worry about "projecting an image." You'd be able to project some substance. |
Al-Qarni said the forum would review the current endeavors and programs to improve the Kingdom's image and suggest new methods and programs to do the work more effectively. "We have already sent messages on the forum to more than 10 million e-mail addresses in the USA, Canada, Europe and other countries," he pointed out.
Posted by: Fred 2004-10-02 |
