Organized by the Media Department at King Saud University in March 2009
Great Preparations for organizing the International Conference for Communication Technologies and Social Change
Preparations continue and arrangements are in full wing at King Saud University to convene the 1st International Conference for Communication Technologies and Social Change, which is organized by the Media Department at the College of Arts next March. This is a scientific conference that consists of four major themes represented in introducing modern communication technologies and their role in the development of mass media besides the media, social, educational and political impacts of these technologies, then the impacts on the social environment and finally the relation between communication technology, cultural identity and knowledge gap. This conference is the first of its kind in the region to be held at this level and it covers different aspects that represent the essence of comprehensive development.
The conference includes a number of contributions from academics, professionals, educationalist, media men, technicians and experts. It also allows for different research subjects to be put forward for study and discussion; and visions and directions to be formed in order to develop and activate the positive effects of communication technologies and limit their negative aspects.
The 1st Conference of Communication Technologies and Social Change enjoys from the wise leadership of this country and from KSU Administration under the leadership of it Rector Professor Abdullah Al-Othman who pays the conference his personal attention, directs and closely follows up the stages of preparation. Moreover, the conference the conference enjoys great attention from the faculty members and media professors at the Media Department as well as other faculty members at KSU departments and colleges.
A number of academic bodies participate in this conference including the media and sociology departments at Arab universities, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Social Affairs, media and social societies, relevant governmental agencies in addition to local private governmental and private mass media and specialist regional and international personalities.
The conference discusses a number of themes that includes the topics discussing the relationship between communication technology and the social, educational, political and economic changes as well as the impact of social environment on the use modern technology besides the role communication revolution in the development of the various mass media. In one of its themes the conference explores a sociological vision regarding the shift from the virtual society to the assumed society besides its vision communication technologies and the formation of public opinion.
The Preparatory Committee continues its extensive meetings and it includes a number of sub-committees chaired by Dr. Fahd Alkulaibi Dean of the Faculty of Arts to discuss new development and follow up the implementation of the plans and preparatory steps for convening the conference at the specified time according to planned arrangements. The Media Department at the College of Arts has turned into a bee hive that is full of movement and continuous activity in which all the department staff participate in the preparation and organization of the conference.
The Preparatory Committee was formed under the chairmanship of Dr. Fahd Alkulaibi Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Dr. Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Alkhraji Head Department of Media as his deputy. The Preparatory Committee is divided into a number of sub-committees including: the Scientific Committee, which includes in its membership Professor Abdulateef Bin Dibaiban Al-'Ufi, Dr. Naif Bin Thinyyan Al Saud, Dr. Muhammad Muhammad Abdu Bakeer, Dr. Khalid Bin Omer Al-Dirai'an and Dr. Hassan Muhammad Hassan Muhammad. The Financial Committee includes Dr. Abdurrahman Al-Otaibi, Dr. Fahd Altayyash, Dr. Bakr Muhammad Ibrahim and Dr. Turki Bin Fad Alayyar. The Media Committee includes Dr. Hazzab Thani Arrayys, Dr. Ali Bin Shweel Al-Garni and Dr. Hussien Al-Kahtani. The Exhibitions Committee includes Dr. Naif Bin Thinyan Al Saud, Dr. Turki Bahashwan Al-Kindi, Dr. Usama Muhammad Al-Mish'al, and Dr. Muhammad Muhammad Bakeer.
It is worth mentioning that the Media Department at the College of Arts, King Saud University is visibly present in KSU occasions and activities. The department has witnessed a qualitative shift during the past period through its contributions and supervision of the main effective KSU activities such as the presidency of media committees, organization of conferences, offering consultations and studies and the supervision of refereeing research papers. There is a trend that calls for turning this department into a college because it enjoys highly academic qualifications, expertise and scientific competencies besides the desire of many students to join the various media fields in the department in view of the media development in the Kingdom and the modern technologies that are used in mass media besides evident contributions of the staff at this department have in all KSU activities. All these factors have contributed to the idea of the expected Media College which matches the qualitative shifts in all aspect.
The Media Department at King Saud University was established in 1972 as the first media department in the Gulf Region. It is considered the most productive department in the field of media studies at the level of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). The mission of the department is represented in qualifying students by means of knowledge and communication skills in order to practice communication and media work on the basis of Arab and Islamic culture. The department aspires to be a pioneer in graduating qualified cares to work in the media, research, communication and media studies in order to meet the demands of the public and private sector institutions. The department consists of a number of laboratories, centers and units besides weekly Risalat Aljami'a (the university message) newspaper and the Saudi Media and Communication Society which was established in 2000.
The professors who work at the Media Departments is a galaxy of distinguished media professors who are renowned for their academic and professional competence and their activity in the field of research, studies, consultations and active participation in the various activities and national occasions in a manner that promoted the department in recent years. |
