NU-Q publishes documentation of Libya’s first steps towards a Free and Open Media

Northwestern University in Qatar announced today the publication of a report documenting Libya’s first steps toward establishing an independent national media system.

The report and website, Media Vision Libya, was published in English and Arabic, and offers an overview, as well as videos, of NU-Q’s historic December 2011 Good Offices conference.  At that conference, convened by Northwestern University in Qatar, a 17-person delegationcomprised of the Libyan National Transitional Council and leading members of Libyan civil societygathered with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Nabil El Araby, and international media experts, to deliberateaccording to four agreed-upon pillars for progress: media governance, the media economy, technology, and training.

The results were a set of principles and an action plan that the delegation authored by consensus, designed to help guide Libya’s government and society as they seek to define and build an independent national media system.

“Re-imagining a media system after decades of autocratic rule is a daunting task,”said Everette E. Dennis, dean and CEO of Northwestern University in Qatar, continuing,“The ‘good offices’ conference was designed to define the main issues at hand, and to find agreement on the basic principles that will guide future policy.”

“This report captures the hard work and outcomes of the conference, and we hope it can be used by the Libyans to further discussion on the crucial issue of media freedom as they face the myriad challenges ahead,” added Dean Dennis.

In addition to the readily searchable 24-page conference report, Media Vision Libya also provides video highlights from the conference, including addresses bythe Secretary General of the Arab League, Nabil Al-Arabi, who was the keynote speaker for the conference and AbdulhafeedhGhoga,Vice Chairman of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC),who was co-chair of the conference and led the Libyan delegation. Opening remarks and video of comments by NU-Q Dean and CEOEverette E. Dennis, who served as Conference Chair, is also featured on the site.

The Media Vision Libya good offices conference and subsequent report are part of Northwestern University in Qatar’s efforts to foster thought leadership in the region’s rapidly evolving fields of media, communication and journalism.