Under the title ‘The Media Conference and its Responsibilities toward the National Dialogue Conference’, a series of workshops kicked off in Sana’a on Sunday.

Over four days, about 40 participants – including journalists and other media figures from Sana’a, Hadhramaut and Aden governorates – will discuss 12 different papers on theme of ‘The role of the media in times of conflict and its responsibilities in relation to the NDC.

During the opening ceremony, Azzadin Al-Asbehi, Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights, delivered a speech in which he emphasized the media’s role and responsibilities in Yemen’s current delicate stage.

He stated that Yemen’s media outlets should have a part in leading society towards peace and a culture of dialogue.

Maysoon Al-Iryani, the Director of the Rejine Institution, and Abbas Zabara, the Director of the Humanitarian Forum, stressed in their speeches the importance of holding such discussions which attempt to enhance themes of dialogue and tolerance.

It is hoped that the discussion workshops will result in recommendations concerned with Yemen’s domestic media landscape. From there, the recommendations would be up for further discussion at an upcoming media conference, which 100 Yemeni journalists are expected to attend. If approved, the recommendations would then be submitted to the NDC.

The workshops were organized by the Rejine Institution for Development and Human Rights and in cooperation with the Human Rights Information & Training center, the Yemeni Humanitarian Forum, and the German Agency for Development and International Cooperation.