Middle East Database, AskZad, Launches in North America and Europe

Middle East Database, AskZad, Launches in North America and Europe MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., USA - September 17, 2009.  Arabia Inform and East View Information Services are pleased to announce the AskZad database has launched in North America.  AskZad is a digital library of Arabic and English content emanating from the countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and containing over 500 million pages of content. Mohamed Elewa, founder and CEO of Arabia Inform, is seeing his vision come to life.  "I founded Arabia Inform more than a dozen years ago.  We created the Middle East's most comprehensive digitization, indexing and archiving center, aggregating and licensing content from around the region.  I have always wanted to bring the richness of Arabic thought to the West, connecting our cultures.  Now that we are launching AskZad in North America and Europe, I am seeing my ultimate wish realized.  We will continue to develop our content to be more usable by both Arabic-speaking and non-Arabic speaking populations and I hope that Arabia Inform will add a new dimension and understanding to the geopolitical dialogue." The content found within AskZad collectively forms an unprecedented digital library of the most important publications from across the Middle East and is constantly growing.  As of September 2009, AskZad contains: Pan-Arab News Index is a full Arabic language index - going back to 1998 - covering: 130 newspaper and news magazine print editions 181 newspapers and new magazines with both print and online editions 215 online news sources from the Arab world indexing of an additional 1,000 news sources relevant to the Middle East article-level views of full content AskZad Full-Page Newspapers is a full-image collection of Middle Eastern Newspapers which AskZad is licensed to re-distribute.  AskZad is pursuing an initiative through 2010 to license the top 100 Arabic language news publications from the Middle East.  Pan-Arab News Index is a full Arabic language index going back to 1998 covering over 2,000 news sources from the Middle East, including hundreds of print newspapers, news websites, and magazines. PANI offers up-to-date indexing as well as article-level views of full content. Pan-Arab E-Books contains nearly 25,000 digitized books. Pan-Arab Academic Journal Index contains full Arabic language indices of more than 500 Middle Eastern university-published journals and approximately 150 organization-published journals. Pan-Arab Academic Journals is a database of complete, licensed content of  almost 200 Applied Science and Social Science Academic Journals published in the Middle East. AskZad continues to negotiate with other journal publishers to expand its collection to include all of the 3,000 journals published across the Arab world. Pan-Arab Dissertations contains almost 7,000 dissertations published by graduate students in the Middle East. Pan-Arab Peer-Review Articles contains approximately  10,000 peer-reviewed articles in both Applied and Social Sciences. Pan-Arab Conference Proceedings covers full materials from approximately 50 Middle Eastern conferences (most held annually), primarily academic, and includes white papers, research presentations, etc. For more information, contact East View at info@eastview.com or view our recorded webinar on East View products from the Middle East. --End--

About East View Information Services East View Information Services is a leading provider of information products and services, including online databases of Russian, Chinese, and Arabic content, print periodicals, books, and microforms. The company serves all geographies and many market segments, including academic institutions, government organizations, corporations, public and federal libraries, and law firms. To learn more about our customers and our products, visit East View www.eastview.com. About Arabia Inform Arabia Inform is a Cairo and Dubai-based information services corporation aggregating, indexing and analyzing media content emanating from MENA countries.  Product lines include AskZad, Middle East Monitor, Acumen Media Intelligence and Moheet news portal..  Founded in 1997 to serve government entities, Arabia Inform has also established itself in Corporate and Academic circles as a cornerstone for Middle Eastern current awareness.  Arabia Inform has also opened an office in Washington, DC. Visit Arabia Inform at www.arabiainform.com.

IBDAA media awards for students approaches deadline

Ibdaa Media Awards 2007 Gathers Momentum As November 15 Deadline Appoaches
Application Forms Available at www.ibdaa-awards.ae

Dubai, UAE - November 6, 2007: With the November 15 submission deadline for the coveted Ibda’a Media Student Awards 2007 fast approaching, the competition is receiving an unprecedented response from international and local media students vying for top honours in the region’s most recognised award for emerging industry talent.

Ibda’a Media Student Awards is organized on an annual basis by Dubai Media City, member of TECOM Investments, in association with the International Advertising Association (IAA). Designed on the concept of ‘Flammable Talent’, the Awards aim to recognize, nurture and promote young media talent.

The competition is open to all undergraduate and fresh graduates of the year 2006-2007. Entry forms are available on the dedicated website www.ibdaa-awards.ae

Over the years, the Ibda'a Media Student Awards has attracted a multitude of entries from the Gulf region and around the globe. Its success is marked by the increasing number of entries, participating countries and the inclusion of additional categories to accommodate the diverse components of new age media. In 2006, the competition received more than 2,200 entries from 20 countries.

Mohamed Al Mulla, Director of Dubai Media City and Coordinator General of the Awards, said: “Ibda'a Media Student Awards 2007 will continue to discover outstanding creative talent from all over the world. Serving as a springboard for students, Ibda'a Awards spotlight young talent on the international media arena, and offer them an opportunity to showcase their work and realize their aspirations.”

Award finalists will be flown to Dubai for a gala celebration that will give away exciting prizes, as well as internship opportunities with leading media organisations including Arabian Radio Network (ARN), Xische, Team Y&R, Motivate Publishing, Nikon, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, CNBC Arabia, CNN and MBC.

Dubai Media City will host the Career Day on 26 December. On the sidelines of the awards, an exhibition of short-listed entries will be held from 25-29 December.

To be presented on 27 December in Dubai, the Ibda’a Media Student Awards cover 10 main categories, including journalism, radio, animation, graphic design, analogue photography, digital photography, print advertising, TV advertising, TV documentary and film/TV feature.

Dubai-based Ziad Galadari Group is the title sponsor of the event this year, while Emirates Bank, Arabian Automobiles, OMD and Carassi are the co-sponsors. Media partners include Motivate Publishing, Zee Arabia, Showtime, Xische, 7 Star Events, Arabian Radio Network, Al Emarat Al Youm and Emirates Today, CNBC Arabia and DMI.

end

Arab-US Association for Communications Educators focuses on importance of media

Role of media, varsities in Arab-US ties stressed
By Zoe Sinclair

30 October 2007

DUBAI — The importance of media and universities in sharing ideas and developing understanding between cultures was stressed at the twelfth Arab-US Association for Communication Educators (AUSACE) conference at Shaikh Zayed University this week.


Speaking at a session yesterday, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and President of Zayed University Shaikh Nahyan Mubarak bin Al Nahyan said the conference came at a time when there was a critical need for Arab-American understanding and dialogue.

The need for Arab-American understanding was also highlighted by key speaker ‘Washington Post’ Middle East correspondent Anthony Shadid on Sunday who related his experiences working in the region by describing a deep sense of loss.

Shadid recounted an experience sitting in a Baghdad bookstore surrounded by famous texts as everyday life continued around him and the bookstore owner.

As visitors passed by to speak with the bookstore owner and relate their news, updating the owner on the conflict, they would often smoke an apple-flavoured ‘shisha’ and Shadid said it was the ordinariness of these moments that made them special — “Life as it should have been and could have been.”

It was also what struck him with a feeling of loss when the bookstore keeper died as the result of a bomb blast and how he related the story such that the ‘Washington Post’ audience could understand.

Shaikh Nahyan said the media, particularly new media, and educators were bridge builders between the Arab world and the United States.

“This understanding, which can only be built on shared beliefs, values, and ideals, will help us all to be more sensitive to each other’s needs,” he said.

“I strongly believe that common ground is possible when both the Arab and the American sides come to know one another as equals. And in this endeavour, universities and educators have a unique role to play.”

The three-day conference that began on Sunday attracted 200 professors representing 40 countries, including from the region.

The attendees are taking part in a series of sessions and workshops aimed at developing exchanges between Arab and US university faculty, media professionals and senior journalism students.

Shaikh Nahyan said some of the issues that often mark political and cultural divisions that the conference was rightly addressing included the role and representation of women, the propagation of stereotypes and issues of access to and ownership of the media.

“How societies address these issues reveal the values and beliefs of those societies,” he said.

“It is my hope that your insights and analyses can suggest productive avenues and possible solutions as we move forward to establish common ground and productive connections.”

A third keynote speaker, former US Ambassador to the UAE and Yemen William A. Rugh spoke at the opening of AUSACE.

Attendees including University of Bahrain professor Dr Hoda Al Mutawah and University of Hong Kong students welcomed the conference as an opportunity to share ideas and research.

AUSACE president Douglas A. Boyd said the conference’s success in sharing of knowledge meant that it was now more common to find Arab experts researching and publishing works on the region where previously such fields were dominated by Western study.