OIC to discuss international prize for promoting tolerance, dialogue

JEDDAH: The committee for instituting the OIC’s international prize to honor media outlets and professionals who have made outstanding contributions to promoting tolerance, harmony and intercultural dialogue, will hold its second meeting at the headquarters of the Union of News Agencies in OIC Member States (UNA) in Jeddah on Monday.

The director of the public information and communication department, Maha Akeel, said that the meeting will discuss the terms and modalities of launching the prize, which was established at the initiative of President of the Republic of Senegal Macky Sall, chairman of the Standing Committee on Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC), pursuant to Resolution No. 09/11 issued by the 11th Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers, held in Jeddah Dec. 21-22, 2016.

The prize comes in implementation of the resolution titled “OIC Media Strategy in Countering Islamophobia and Its Implementation Mechanisms,” which was presented to the 11th session in 2016. Akeel said that OIC member states expressed their concern at the rising intolerance against Islam and Muslims in the West and in many areas in the world.

“This intolerance is exacerbated to a large extent by widespread reporting, writings, articles, interviews, commentaries, editorials, op-eds in some Western print and visual media, including social networking sites,” she added.

To counter these campaigns, which deliberately target Islam, the OIC, through various actions, seeks to show the world that Islam is the religion of peace and tolerance.