Baghdad– The 13th edition of the Al-Ghadeer International Media Festival in Baghdad kicked-off on Thursday 21 July and will run until 23 July with the participation of more than 183 media institutions, including 113 institutions from outside Iraq, 70 local institutions, and several media personalities from around the world. The opening featured a ceremony in which a number ofart stars in the Arab world were honoured, including Iraqi director and media figure Faisal Al-Yasiri, Egyptian artist Aida Riad, Egyptian star Tarek Desouky, Syrian Director Basil Al-Khatib, Syrian artist Sabah Al-Jazaery, Iraqi artist Shatha Salem, Kuwaiti artist Mohammed Al-Mansour, Iranian artist SherifNia, Algerian artist Khadija Muzini, Algerian director Mustafa Lauribi, and Lebanese artist Sarah Kassir. 15 countries are competing for the festival's prizes, including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Oman, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Palestine, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, and Algeria, along with non-Arab contenders like Iran, Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, France, Bulgaria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The competitions include: ⮚ 480 TV Works vying for the Best TV Work Award ⮚ 180 radio works competing for the Best Radio Work Award ⮚ 51 news agencies contending for the Best News Website Award ⮚ 13 newspapers competing for the Best Newspaper Award ⮚ 15 works of animation vying for the Best Animation Award The festival is also showcasing a selection of the most important international films that won awards in major festivals around the world. Festival President Hadi Al-Amiri stressed that his teamseeks to restore lost credibility in media, literature, and art in all its forms, explaining that the loss of credibility and the prevalence of falsehood, delusion, and deception in the media is a real disaster that threatens peoples and destabilises security. Al-Amiri added that the "the Ghadeer Festival represents an opportunity to exchange experiences at a time when we need to return to the elements of media credibility." For his part, Secretary–General of the Festival ModarAl-Bakaa stressed that it is necessary to take into consideration the formulation of the media material, its perfection, and its presentation to the public. Al-Bakka added that "the General Secretariat and its secretary-general in Iraq, along with a number of prominent Iraqi institutions, had the greatest role in supporting the Al-Ghadeer Festival."
