They are young, gifted and need a voice. More than half the Arab population is under the age of 30 - but the region's youth are not fully engaged in the media industry.
That is the view of Noura Al Kaabi, the new chief executive of the Abu Dhabi media zone twofour54, who warns of a "lost generation" if young people do not become more involved in the sector.
"For us, supporting the youth is a priority of twofour54," she says.
Ms Al Kaabi formally took over as the twofour54 chief at the beginning of this week, replacing the former head Tony Orsten.
Now the media zone is planning investments to help encourage entrepreneurship among young people.
"You just never know, out of 10 start-ups maybe you will have a slam-dunk with one of them. It's just encouraging that environment," says Ms Al Kaabi.
Here, the executive shares her views on the state of the regional media, after a tough few years for the industry because of the financial downturn and Arab Spring.
What is the biggest change that you want to introduce at twofour54 since taking over as chief executive?
Focusing on youth, mostly. The youth don't understand the impact of media, or being part of the industry. That made us start a roadshow to more than 28 universities and schools, to help students understand why it is important to be part of the media industry.
And why is that important?
If we don't work in engaging the youth, and bridging the gap between them and older generations, we will reach a point where we will have a lost generation. And we don't want that to happen. We want them to be part of what is being created here. If you want to enrich the culture, you simply engage the youth.
How will this approach be reflected in twofour54's investments?
They're mostly small scale. We plan to hold a start-up weekend in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We want to see how we can support such young talents. It's not necessarily about whether they can form a company, it's about supporting an idea.
Do we have a sustainable media industry here in the Arab world?
Yes, we do have a sustainable media. But does the content that is available match the amount of talent within the region? No, it does not. [So] it's important to create that environment that helps and supports talented Arab individuals or UAE nationals to consider that industry.
According to the Arab Media Outlook, regional unrest prompted a 10 per cent decline in the ad market last year. What's your assessment of the impact of the Arab Spring on the industry?
After the Spring, Egypt has more television channels and publications than before. So the market is growing, but I can't say it's promising in commercial terms. I just see dissemination of content everywhere, points of view … I see it as a huge opportunity.
The number of newspapers in the Arab world fell last year, and circulation figures are flat. Is print dead?
Print is not dead, it is just not as powerful as before. Now, when you [assess] the strength of a publication, it's more about what it can show you digitally. It is very challenging for the print industry. I think that print should look at different ways to encourage more readers, and engage readers.
Today is Press Freedom Day. The UAE, like most Arab countries, ranks poorly in terms of press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders. What is your view on that?
Dubai Media City started opening the door for media outlets, broadcasters such as MBC and other news outlets. We are doing the same as well. That's great. We are welcoming external agencies to cover news here in the UAE. So this is a great step. And what this is showing is that we support - with our regulations - the opportunities of such news agencies to be here in the UAE. We're allowing press freedom - with responsibility, and with objectivity.
So do you think the Reporters Without Borders rankings, in which the UAE is placed 112th worldwide in terms of press freedom, is fair?
I don't think they are fair. Being ranked below where we want to be is due to certain coverage and certain stories, rather than looking at what we are currently doing here in the UAE.
The UAE media law dates back to 1980. Do we need new media legislation in the country?
From 1980 - more than 30 years ago - we're doing great with the media law that we have. I don't think it's stopped us. I don't think it prevented us coming up with a code of content here in the media zone. We're already working with international media partners who are very comfortable with our media regulations. We have CNN, the Financial Times … all these media entities. And none of them, not a single one, have said "we can't do something because of a media law".
You're very popular on Twitter, with more than 21,000 followers. Do you think we need further regulation of social media in the UAE?
No. Regulating Twitter would defeat the purpose of it. You do that in one case only: if you are an employee of an organisation [you have] a responsibility. But if you're talking on a personal basis, you can say whatever you want. If we say "don't say this, or don't say that on Twitter" it would be nonsense.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The%20specs
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CREW
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
The%20specs
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
More coverage from the Future Forum
PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
