KUWAIT: Minister of Information and Culture and State Minister for Youth Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi speaks during a ceremony to launch the 2021-2026 strategy of the ministry of information yesterday. - Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Minister of Information and Culture and State Minister for Youth Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi said that the ministry is working on developing the official media to achieve sustainable development. "We aim to make official media the main source of knowledge, leadership and excellence," he said during a ceremony to launch the 2021-2026 strategy of the ministry of information yesterday.

"The strategy has a clear view - to have sustainable media with meaningful content that combines originality and modernity, reflects diversity and innovation, and encourages creative competencies in partnership with the private sector and civil society," said Mutairi. This strategy focuses on human resource development of the ministry of information. "The strategy will support creative employees as well as develop Kuwaiti media content. Furthermore, the strategy will provide high-tech and modern equipment to keep abreast of global developments in this field," he pointed out.

The ministry's strategy will improve various sectors, according to the minister. "The strategy will unify the identity of the ministry and its sectors. It will develop legislation to match the 'New Kuwait' vision. It will also improve financial resources and develop media marketing tools. It will also support drama, cinema and theatre production, in addition to establishing a 'media production city' and specialized media authorities," explained Mutairi. He added that the strategy would also provide a positive environment for media work and restructure the sectors by setting the specializations of all employees. It will also boost technical and digital transformation, he noted.

"We set certain criteria to measure the success of the ministry while executing the strategy, including the viewership rate and interaction with official channels, high returns from marketing and advertising and measuring the level of satisfaction and acceptance of the viewer, in addition to interaction with international media and media representatives inside and outside Kuwait," Mutairi said.

The criteria also include the rate of participation in media festivals, exhibitions and conferences, in addition to the number of initiatives submitted by media leaders. "We trust the ability of young Kuwaitis who are working in the media field to face challenges and turn them into opportunities, especially since Kuwaiti media was distinguished in its past, brilliant in its present and ambitious in its future," he said.

It took the team working on this strategy 120 working hours to prepare it. "Forty-one discussion panels were held inside and outside the ministry, in which over 550 people participated. They also reviewed the experience of international, Arab and Gulf countries and conducted over 200 office surveys, studies and reports with specialists. I would like to thank all those who worked on preparing this strategy," concluded Mutairi.