An Arab News panel discussion held on May 2, 2017, in Dubai proposed solutions to the Middle East’s image problem in the West, as new research emerged illustrating the severity of the US “knowledge gap” about the region. “The Arab Image in the West” discussion on Tuesday featured three international speakers and was moderated by Faisal J. Abbas, editor in chief of Arab News.
Panelist Hadley Gamble, a reporter and anchor for CNBC covering the Middle East, Africa and US politics, pointed to the lack of emphasis on geography in the US school system.
Nathan Tek, US State Department spokesman in the Middle East, said his response “is not to get upset, not to boycott channels… The answer is always to engage. The answer is always to go on air, to go in that space.”
Mark Donfried, director of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, said the Arab world can engage in cultural diplomacy, like Germany did after World War II to improve a very bad image.
