Prof. Hamdallah started the conference by speaking about the importance of media in the modern world of today as it enables people in different parts of the globe to know what goes on in other countries. Media reflects reality, connects people, and creates an atmosphere for mutual understanding. He also added that since different countries have different cultures, exchange of ideas and traditions between people is inevitable and media works on facilitating this process and gives it a global sense.

He further provided that the organizing bodies have been planning for the conference for several months in order to come up with an informative and effective event that would first enable the participants to present their studies and second suggest significant recommendations to be adopted later.

 

Speaking about the importance of such event, Prof. Hamdallah also said that the University realizes the importance of media and its role in shaping the ideas and thinking of the public, therefore, it focused on supporting this field through providing journalism and media students with what they need. It also sought to make the Department of Journalism and Mass Media an independent entity through the establishment of the Media Center which was inaugurated recently.

The participants agreed on the vital role that media plays today, particularly in Palestine; therefore, they called for supporting this field through the establishment of a number of media institutions that are equipped with the latest technologies just like those of the University's new Media Center. They also called for the establishment of a strong and integrated media union that focuses on providing quality professional training for Palestinian journalists so that they become more experienced and skilled in this field.

This step would greatly benefit the Palestinian media and shall make it overcome the obstacles that the Israeli occupation imposes, thus providing the best media coverage of the Palestinian cause.

The conference included a number of topics and work papers that addressed different issues such as: the freedom of media in Palestine, the Palestinian official journalism and the development of communication means, national media and its impact on the Arab and international community, Arab media and the Palestinian cause, study plans for media departments at the Palestinian universities and its compliance with the needs of the society and many others.