Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
The growing role of women in Arabic storytelling and the use of emerging tech in creative industries came to the fore at the Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries (Congress ACI) held in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to Aletihad, experts highlighted that the event offers a platform to network and keep pace with the latest sector trends.
Producer Tima Shomali, who participated in the panel “Her Narrative: Women Reimagining Arabic Creativity”, noted that the congress sheds light on women’s growing role compared to a decade ago.
“This is the time for women to shine in TV and film. We now have far more women writers, directors, and producers than we did five or ten years ago. I think it is finally time for women to have a seat at the table,” she said.
Shomali added that the event also reflected the richness of the Arabic language and underscored the importance of creative industries in shaping the future Arabic content.
Rolla Karam, Senior Vice President of Content Acquisition & Arabic Channels Programming at OSN, who participated in the session “Whose Story Is It?”, noted the region has no dearth of stories to tell.
“Each one of us owns Arabic stories. This region is packed with stories to tell - as long as we make them and produce them in an authentic and real way. They have to be very relatable to the region, and if written in a way that connects with the audience, then they can be for everyone,” Karam said.
On safeguarding heritage, she noted that creative industries play a major role.
Television networks and music platforms, she said, help preserve it for the new generation, adding that “entertainment is the starting point of preserving Arabic content”.
She also noted that the event “gives us the opportunity to meet, network, and inform the industry where we are at the moment and where OSN wants to be in the future”.
Discussing technology, Karam pointed to the emergence of AI as both an opportunity and a challenge.
“AI is very important and it’s in all fields. At OSN, we are working on AI for localisation, dubbing and subtitling, but we need not to forget rights and voice overs. It is still too soon for AI to replace that field, but it will get there. AI is a tool to help, not to take over,” he said.
