The Ministry of Education gives full attention to all events and seminars run on campus.
In a statement to reporters, King Khalid University (KKU) rector Prof. Dr Falih As-Sulame announced The 2nd International Conference on Media and Terrorism: tactics and strategies, to be organized by the Mass Communication Department on Dec 6-8, 2016 in Abha, under the sponsorship of H.E. Minister of Education Dr Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Eissa.
The conference delves into what it takes to face up to terror from the media's perspective, and sheds light on roles played by media agencies both to curtail it and to disclose its tactics. He added, “This helps to forge public opinion and to disseminate the culture of tolerance and moderation within all corners of society.”
"Facing terror tactics has become an intricate issue of great concern for professionals leading and working for media agencies, political regimes, and international organizations," As-Sulame remarked.
"Based upon KKU's belief in a quality educational and academic mission at the domestic, regional, and international levels, KKU is holding this conference. The conference hosts a pool of media experts to present their visions on how media may combat terrorism in line with sound mass communication approaches," said Dr Mohammed bin A. Al-Hasoon, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, KKU, who chairs the conference organizing committee.
"The academic committee was surprised by the great number of requests received from inside and outside the Kingdom to take part in the conference; there were over 1,000," said Prof Dr Ali AlKarni, Mass Communication Department Head, KKU. "This turnout put pressure on the committee, which sorted through each request separately, and narrowed them to 100 selections. The conference received papers from 30 countries worldwide," he added.
"KKU has harnessed the potential of many avenues to host the conference because of its topical significance and worldwide attention. The academic committee has extended invitations to international media channels, social media networks, strategic centres, and domestic organizations to embrace an overall inclusiveness to the conference from all relevant entities, working inside and outside the country," he concluded.
KKU Mass Communication Department is established with the aim of meeting the academic accreditation standards, though it is the most fledgling department in mass communication Pan-Saudi universities.
Drafted to fulfill the academic accreditation requirements and to meet the domestic mass communication needs, the department plan is based upon teaching English language intensively to the freshmen. In addition, the freshmen will study customized Arabic-focused syllabuses to hone up their writing skills.
Providing three majors, the department is tailored on studying the modern-day trends in mass communication teaching adopted in benchmark universities in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, it serves the domestic labor market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Mass Communication Department plan stands out as it fulfills standards set by the domestic and international accreditation agencies, particularly those pertaining to restructuring the syllabuses by the department on and off campus, including the supporting syllabuses. This serves the approach that media men should have the deep knowhow on various majors and spheres of media action.
There are some other training programs not in the crux of Mass Communication Department; however, they are set to earn the degree. In-house training, for example, is a requirement that helps train undergrads on various on-the-job skills, and enriches practice for course books. This is in addition to scheduling visits for the undergraduates to media agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and overseas.
Thanks to the KKU rector’s directives, an attention to Mass Communication Department is paid to activate the mass communication paradigm on campus, including, developing Afaq, the weekly campus newspaper – the first campus newspaper nationwide and in the region. This is in addition to establishing a sophisticated media center, including studios, to be labs for training the undergrads to meet the KKU needs from media perspective.