Lamia Al Harmoudi (Sharjah)
Dr. Khaled Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Media City (Shams), confirmed to Al Ittihad that Sharjah Media City is a free zone that grants companies licenses to work with the aim of achieving growth and prosperity in the Emirate of Sharjah, explaining that the city focuses on many sectors, especially the media, and that it was established In January 2017, by an Emiri Decree of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
(Shams) provides a suitable investment environment for small, medium and emerging companies, with the provision of many services and facilities that enable entrepreneurs to expand and develop their businesses, in addition to supporting talents and businesses in the media and creative fields. Al Midfa said: Sharjah Media City extends over an area of two million square meters, and aims to form an integrated community of businesses in various vital sectors. (Shams) manages its system according to two tracks: establishing an integrated business community that incubates small and medium companies and emerging companies, and qualifying more media cadres in order to advance the media and creativity sector and provide it with talents capable of developing the media scene in Sharjah and the UAE.
Al Midfa added: Shams has identified five strategic goals that it will focus on in the coming years, which are developing the media sector and supporting it with media platforms to enable companies and individuals to engage in the media and creative sectors, developing talents, enhancing creativity and innovation in the media, creative and entrepreneurship fields, real estate development for Shams lands, and improving The level of customer satisfaction to enhance the position of Shams in attracting investors and business owners, and to establish a technological system that provides the best services for business owners.
He explained that what distinguishes Shams is building an integrated business community that we are working to develop and ensure its growth, by facilitating many partnerships, services and facilities, the most recent of which was stimulus and support programs for investors in the media sector, last year by offering a 20% discount on licensing fees for the single visa package, and a discount Up to 35% on different multi-year packages, as well as providing an integrated electronic platform, containing all the services it provides, including cash deposit service and conducting all transactions without the need to leave the house.
Al Midfa stressed that the most important thing that Shams offers in the field of media is presenting its vision of establishing a media sector based on innovation and creativity, which is in line with the position of the Emirate of Sharjah as a global center for culture and civilization, and its quest to qualify human cadres in order to support the innovation system and creative industries based on ideas Creative, which can make a huge difference in the media landscape. In addition to managing and nurturing media talent by holding several workshops aimed at refining the skills of media professionals and entrepreneurs in the sector and providing them with the latest expertise and knowledge in many media disciplines. He said: Shams has implemented training workshops and professional courses in the field of media and creativity with the aim of refining and enhancing talents, and these courses have been offered to all members of society, in addition to the licensed companies in Shams, such as the cinematography workshop, media content writing, digital marketing, radio and television presentation arts, and the art of recitation. The mechanism of linguistic sound production.
Improving the role of the media
Regarding the societal and awareness-raising role provided by (Shams), the President of Sharjah Media City stressed that the Foundation is keen in the first place to improve the role of the media to provide purposeful content that aligns with the principles and customs of Emirati and Arab society, and aims at community development and raising the level of awareness of individuals towards various issues.
He explained that the password for Shams’ excellence is technology, as it undoubtedly plays a prominent role in many vital sectors, especially the media, where technology has become an integral part of this industry based primarily on creativity and innovation. He said: We have an integrated electronic platform to manage the relationship between us and our licensed companies, starting with the license application and launching the company within minutes of our innovative platform. We will also work in the coming period to introduce modern technology into the entire work system in Shams, such as the Internet of Things, virtual reality and electronic projects that work through the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as “blockchain”, automation, encrypted digital currencies and others.
He added: During this journey that will continue for future generations, we aspire to make Shams a leading regional and global center in the field of media technology, and we believe that our cadres are capable of making progress, similar to the successes achieved in the UAE.
Emirati artistic experience
On the most important projects, programs and initiatives launched by Shams recently, the President of Sharjah Media City (Shams) referred to the Emirati artistic experience launched by (Shams) in 2019 under the slogan “Cinema starts from here” one of the most prominent initiatives launched recently, and the Emirati artistic experience has contributed By registering 2,500 participants on the platform, and carrying out training workshops in the fields of acting, photography, soundtracks, and lighting, in addition to designing 80 educational videos. The experiment was supported by 600 directors, 800 actors and actresses, 200 composers, 100 film make-up specialists and 100 graphic designers, in addition to the qualification of many affiliates in the film industry during their participation in the making of the movie “218: Behind the Silence Wall”, which became the first public-made artwork in The Arab world.
“Shams Conversations”
The “Shams Dialogues” initiative was also launched, which was held in 2021, and is considered the latest interactive digital “Shams” initiative, which aims to support entrepreneurs and develop media work as part of the integrated economic system in the Emirate of Sharjah and the UAE by raising many important topics for discussion. The initiative supports the aspect of enhancing the business environment and developing media work by qualifying human cadres of entrepreneurs, and providing them with the opportunity to benefit from the best international experiences and practices in establishing and developing their businesses.
International TV stations
On the possibility of Sharjah Media City being a headquarters for international, local and Arab television stations, and a headquarters for newspapers and magazines, Al Midfa said: Shams seeks to attract major media and creative companies, as the free zone possesses huge potentials that qualify it to be attractive to media companies that seek to be part of the Shams community. Among those components are the qualified spaces and infrastructure, and the location that allows Shams to host the headquarters of major media organizations.
social media platforms
On the impact of the spread of social media platforms, and their increasing role in the media scene, Al Midfa said: There is no doubt that social media sites have imposed themselves strongly on the global and Arab media scene, and of course in the UAE, where it changed the media’s methodology and the recipient also became the owner of a media message. Each individual can now broadcast his messages within minutes to be watched by thousands, and even millions.