Media in UAE has a bright future
The media industry in Dubai and the greater UAE has a positive future with opportunities for growth, according to Majed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director of Dubai Production City, Dubai Media City, and Dubai Studio City.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the WAN-IFRA Middle East Conference in Dubai, Al Suwaidi noted that equipping media outlets with the infrastructure required to flourish will have a beneficial knock-on effect on other sectors of the economy.
“We have a very positive outlook,” he said. “We believe media is an important platform that has the opportunity to grow a lot of other sectors that are around us. With the right tools and platforms that we are setting for them, and the right location and the right communities, we believe this well have a very positive effect.”
In the case of Dubai Production City and the production industry, Al Suwaidi predicted there will be an “innovation change” as more industries become involved.
“Today we don’t focus on print and publishing, but print, publishing, development of light structures such as exhibition stands and others, and production of short-form videos and visuals, or different media (outlets) that require some kind of facility to enhance their production output,” he noted.
Research and future forecasting, he noted, are vital to ensuring that media outlets are provided with the tools they need to succeed in the future.
“We have future outlooks that we develop. We actually go and mine the industry and see what’s expected in the industry over the next period of time, what’s going to happen and how can we help the current industry forecast or foresee the potential changes that might happen,” he said. “We believe there will be a magnificent change to the industry itself.”
“All traditional media output today will have a transformation,” he added. “What we have been doing is bringing all of these platforms together.”
Another important factor is international cooperation and the sharing of best practices, Al Suwaidi added.
“We want people to share knowledge, and see what the forecast is from other colleagues and other professionals and what (other people) are doing in the same industry, but in other parts of the world,” he said. “Hopefully that will result in an industry that is innovation-led and doesn’t only depend on the traditional ways of production, but also looks at opportunities from SMEs and start-ups.”
“We are actually setting the scene to do that,” Al Suwaidi noted. “We don’t have a choice. We see that the government is becoming ultra-innovative in the way they tackle challenges, and that will only (transfer) over to private investment. As a private individual, when you see an innovationled economy, you will be expected to innovate, look to what would happen in the future, and be at the forefront of development.”
bernd@khaleejtimes.com