CAIRO: The role of innovative media in changing the Middle East is the focus of the 14th annual international conference of the Arab-US Association for Communication Educators (AUSACE), which kicked off on Nov. 7. Hosted by the American University in Cairo, the conference brings together professors and researchers from all over the world, with a focus on communication educators. "A conference like this is really an opportunity to exchange ideas and to look at the opportunities and the current environment [of the] field, said Naila Hamdy, president of AUSACE and chair of the mass communication department at AUC. "Everybody here, no matter what country they come from, have an interest in Arab media. So, this is a chance where we look at many of the new trends in media in the region and the new things that will happen with journalism and media freedom and other things such as challenges that PR [public relations] and advertising have at this era, she explained. The conference's main objective is to provide a forum for communication educators, students and media professionals throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world, to discuss the innovation of media and its ongoing, but often uneven, impact on a changing region, according to Hamdy. Through its annual conference, AUSACE is able to develop media professional relationships and ongoing educational exchanges among Arab and American university faculty, media professionals and students. "The communications industry is changing by the minute. When I was at AUC many many years ago it was about writing journalism and a little bit about television. Now people are talking about Twitter, about blogging. So it's important to listen to others and see what new trends exist, what challenges they have in teaching these new trends, and how to apply the same standards of professional journalism to social networks for example, said Nabil Fahmy, dean of the School of Public Affairs at AUC. Participants at the conference find it crucial to discuss how innovative media is affecting communication education in particular. This year's topic, innovative media in the Middle East, will be discussed through the different media sectors, whether it's journalism or advertising. "The theme of this conference is new media in a changing Middle East, but it's the whole world that's changing. There is a revolution in communication and technology and when we get together like this we are all sharing notes about what we are doing to help students adjust, said Leonard Teel from Georgia State University in the US "You have to do what the students are doing. Keeping up is very difficult, so we are trying to teach them how to apply this technology constructively to promote information and knowledge in the modern world, creating knowledge through communication, he added. AUC professors are particularly excited about the conference being held on their premises. "It's an honor to have AUSACE hosted at AUC and we are having different presenters from different countries, we have a variety of topics that we're going to be tackling, said Mervat Abou Oaf, mass communication professor at AUC. It's her third time to attend AUSACE, and this year she is participating in two panels "Image of Arab Women in Arab Media and "Media and Education. "If we wouldn't adapt to all the changes, there would be no market for journalism students. [Now] you have to integrate all; this separate identity of each is no more. Everything should be integrated. Multimedia is taking over, Abou Oaf noted.
