The International Palestine Conference on media and communications was held in Istanbul on April 23-24, 2014, and was attended by over 400 international media personalities and organisations. The conference was held to address the growing need to find a framework for joint communication, coordination and interaction between media outlets in order to better serve the Palestinian cause. There is an increasing necessity to face the attempts to weaken the cause and isolate it from its Arab and Islamic depth as well as its humanitarian dimension and exclude it from the media attention.
The conference was also held to emphasise the importance of the Palestinian. The Palestinian cause has engendered a sense of creativity and enthusiasm in various media forms throughout the Arab nations and the world. The conference aimed to build new and effective media projects and strategies that serve the Palestinian cause.
During seminars, workshops and training sessions at the conference attendees deliberated different aspects of media work that serves the Palestinian cause and researched ways to develop and enhance cooperation between organisations.
The conference organisers hope that this will be the first of many such events. The conference recommendations and projects are as follows:
- The conference organisers appreciate the sacrifices made by Palestinian journalists and media organisations and announce their solidarity with them and support for their perseverance despite the challenges they face. The conference also condemns the violations and crimes committed by the Israeli authorities against media outlets and journalists working in Palestine.
- The conference would like to shed light on the threats to the Palestinian cause that aim to weaken and eliminate it, in order to please Israel. Such threats have included targeting Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as other Islamic and Christian holy sites, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, the continued siege on Gaza and the erasing of the Palestinian identity.
- The conference stresses the importance of organising media programmes in every field to form a comprehensive media discourse that takes control of the initiative and presents it in an influential manner.
- The conference calls for further attention and focus on the development of media production which is geared towards a worldwide audience. The conference also calls for the creation of channels of communication which serve the rights of the Palestinians in various languages.
- The conference warns against justifying and glossing over Israel’s actions, violations and war crimes, which some biased media parties often do, and then blaming the Palestinian victims and stripping the struggle of its national liberation identity.
- The conference encourages communication, discussion and the exchange of media expertise as well as continued assessment and constructive critiques in order to develop media work on Palestine and the coordination and unification of media efforts towards serving the Palestinian cause.
- The conference urges the visual, audio, printed, electronic and social media outlets to focus on providing good quality coverage of Palestinian events and developments, and to give in-depth coverage of the cause and its issues.
- The conference values the role of artistic production in enhancing the presence of the Palestinian cause in the media and its international impact by highlighting justice and the facts of the conflict
- The conference calls on media organisations to support Palestinian media organisations and journalists in the development of their skills and abilities in order to improve the role that they play.
- The conference announces the launch of the International Palestine Media Award to encourage excellent media coverage and creative artistic production that serves the Palestinian cause. The award’s Advisory Board and further details will be announced at a later date.
- The conference announces the establishment of the Palestinian Film Centre, which will document, promote and distribute Palestinian films. The Centre will encourage communication between filmmakers and others in the industry.
- The conference announces the establishment of a fund to support youth media initiatives to boost young people’s media efforts and enable them to achieve their ambitions.
- The conference stresses the importance of activating and participating in the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People and dedicating this day to promoting the rights of Palestinians in the international media.
The conference thanks Turkey’s government and people for the opportunity to hold this discussion in Istanbul. The conference also thanks the organisations and individuals who attended and contributed to the success of the sessions. The conference values the contributions, recommendations and ideas proposed which will develop the ever-growing media.