Doha, September 30 (QNA) – The Behavioral Health Support Center (Daam), operating under the umbrella of the Qatar Social Work Foundation (QFSW), organized the forum on preventive media: partner in societal values and social cohesion, alongside the exhibition on responsible content.

The event was held in collaboration with Qatar Television, in the presence of HE Minister of Social Development and Family and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of QFSW, Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi, a host of Their Excellencies, Ministers, along with a variety of executive directors and representatives of media and social institutions, behavioral health experts, academics, and a group of youth interested in media and volunteer work.

Executive Director of Daam, Jawaher Abu Alfain, said the forum came to underscore the fact that family is the primary bedrock in building a tight-knit community in realization of Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030).

This forum combines national vision with scientific and applied knowledge, forming a platform for the integration of roles among the concerned institutions, mostly media corps, as an iron-clad partner of the social sector in prevention and promoting positive behaviors, as well as citizenship and a sense of belonging, Abu Alfain highlighted.

She indicated that investing in preventive media is no longer a luxury but a necessity to safeguard societies, not only socially and behaviorally, but also economically and politically, thereby cementing the role of conscious media as a strategic tool to preserve stability and support sustainable development.

The forum underscored Daam’s commitment to delivering a national message grounded in awareness, prevention, and treatment, positioning media at the forefront of community partnerships that build a healthy, cohesive society, rejoicing in its resilience, capable of confronting challenges, and steadfast in its authentic values, Abu Alfain underlined.

Director of Qatar TV, Ali bin Saleh Al Sada, stressed the importance of backing the national efforts aiming to build Qatari citizens and bolster values of belonging and societal responsibility in alignment with QNV 2030, which is structured into four core pillars, including human development.

It is imperative that Qatari citizens internalize strong moral and ethical values, take pride in their authentic cultural and national heritage, and cultivate a profound sense of belonging and citizenship, Al Sada said.

He added that this is complemented by the pillar of social development, which conduces to the achievement of a variety of high national objectives, foremost among them the protection of national heritage, the reinforcement of Arab and Islamic identity, and the wielding of a spirit of tolerance and constructive dialogue.

Al Sada pointed out that Qatar TV believes in the role of national media in enhancing behavioral health and raising public awareness, emphasizing that this forum represents a consequential and influential milestone in the evolution of national media, contributing to shaping proper societal awareness, as well as protecting the social fabric from the risks of alien behaviors that contravene the nation’s robust mores and culture.

This convention is part of the cooperation enhancement between the social and media sectors in the State of Qatar, with the intent of emphasizing the role of media in fostering behavioral health and societal values given the challenges besetting modern communities, said Acting Director of Community Awareness at Daam, Hussein Al Harmi.

Al Harmi discussed the forum’s objectives to cast a spotlight on state-of-the-art media practices around awareness, explore avenues for leveraging them in boosting media and social awareness, as well as positive behaviors, in addition to enhancing balanced human behavior through operationalizing professional and informed content, and so forth.

The panel discussions held alongside this forum weighed in on the criticality of preventive media as a strategic tool to support social stability, along with the role media performs in bolstering awareness and responsible societal behavior, media impact on mental health and social balance, in addition to operationalizing media as a platform for youth empowerment and societal culture entrenchment.

The responsible content exhibition highlighted a range of media and community initiatives on how media, across its conventional and digital platforms, can be wielded in a conscious and responsible manner.

It showcased experiences from media institutions and community centers presenting their achievements in the field of preventive and awareness-driven media, through interactive platforms that allowed visitors to access audio-visual materials, documentary reports, and real-life testimonies.

At the conclusion of the forum, participants emphasized the consequentiality of adopting a unified Gulf framework for preventive media, establishing professional standards and unified messaging, while instituting joint evaluation mechanisms to ensure performance quality and effectiveness of impact.

The takeaways from this event recommended the development of a comprehensive system to measure the influence of preventive media on societal behavior, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative tools, alongside precise digital analyses to study outcomes and assess the effectiveness of campaigns.

They also called for the implementation of wide-reaching preventive media campaigns targeting the groups most vulnerable to behavioral risks, as well as the creation of a unified regional platform to support expertise in preventive media, with a focus on the psychological and social dimensions of society.

In addition, they recommended the establishment of a national charter for responsible media that considers psychological and social considerations, while contributing to the strengthening of social cohesion and the promotion of positive values.

The participants emphasized the importance of activating sustainable institutional partnerships between the media and social sectors to implement more comprehensive and integrated preventive media initiatives.

They also called for the launch of joint Gulf youth media platforms and the design of specialized training programs aimed at empowering young people to produce purposeful and professional media content that effectively raises societal awareness.

Overall, they advocated for the creation of youth media productions reflecting Gulf identity, integrating cultural and social values within an innovative and engaging contemporary framework. (QNA)