Taha Hasib (Abu Dhabi)

On the sidelines of the 18th Aletihad Forum, an interactive workshop for young media professionals from Aletihad News Center and young researchers from TRENDS Research and Advisory was held under the title “COP28: The Role of Media in Promoting Climate Awareness”. The workshop was a collaborative effort between Aletihad News Center and TRENDS Research and Advisory.

At the beginning of the workshop, Hamad Al Kaabi, Director of Aletihad News Center, emphasised the necessity of providing an opportunity for young people to express their views on COP28, which is set to be hosted by the UAE from November 30 to December 12.

Al Kaabi pointed out that the goal of the workshop is to provide an opportunity for spontaneous conversation with young media professionals about the importance of COP28, as each journalist, editor, and researcher was given the opportunity to present their vision for the climate conference, each according to their specialisation and areas of interest.
Al Kaabi added that climate change has become a matter that concerns everyone in the media profession, regardless of their specialisation or interests.

Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali, the CEO of the TRENDS Research and Advisory, stressed the importance of cooperation between the media and research centres, as each enhances the role of the other. 

He referred to Aletihad News Center as the first media supporter of TRENDS, as it provided an opportunity for researchers to communicate with society, and at the same time, the media benefits from the knowledge content produced by the centre.

Al Ali praised the constructive cooperation between the two centres, especially in providing knowledge and enhancing opinion pages with young researchers. 

Professor of Media Nouf Al Katheeri added: “Usually, the problem is not in the content itself, but in the way it is delivered to the audience. Sometimes the information is conveyed through entertainment. In this case, the media should interact with the public’s changing tastes, rather than imposing its taste on them.”

Mariam Al Junaibi, a researcher in the TRENDS Global Barometer Department, mentioned that TRENDS focuses on opinion polls, both field-based and electronic. In one of the electronic surveys conducted by the centre, 75% of the participants reported being interested in climate change and aware of its challenges, Al Junaibi said.

Juma Al Naimi said that COP28 is concerned with unifying global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The Year of Sustainability in the UAE coincides with this endeavour, reinforcing the country’s path to preserving the environment and reducing pollution. COP28 is part of the international efforts exerted to curb this risk, and the UAE hosts the global climate event to find effective solutions to this significant challenge, Al Naimi said.

Ambitious plans were discussed by Aysha Al Romaithi, the Research Management Director at TRENDS, who said that the centre has had a particular interest in environmental, sustainability, and climate action issues from the start. “At TRENDS, we have a research programme specialised in sustainability and climate action, through which we published dozens of objective research studies in different languages by authors from different cultures. With the announcement of the UAE hosting COP28, an ambitious research plan was set up to support this dossier through many research projects,” Al Romaithi said.

Al Romaithi added that the centre is preparing to release two essential books in the coming weeks about climate change and COP28. 

Journalist Mohammed Al Mahrizi, from Aletihad News Center emphasised the significance of educating the public on dealing with climate challenges, especially in agriculture. He gave an example of farmers in rural areas, who need quality awareness of the new agricultural techniques and methods provided by specialised companies.