- Yousef Al-Othaimeen: The OIC seeks to play a more effective role in promoting cultural exchange in an attempt to fight negative stereotypes associated with Islam
JEDDAH: Strengthening and encouraging regional cinema production is vital for boosting mutual understanding among member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Yousef Al-Othaimeen, OIC secretary-general, made the statement during a meeting convened by a panel of experts to establish an OIC award for production companies that excel ahead of the Pan-African Film & Television Festival, which will be held in Burkina Faso.
“The OIC seeks to play a more effective role in promoting cultural exchange in an attempt to fight negative stereotypes associated with Islam,” he said.
“The recent summit held in Jeddah and the meeting convened by the OIC in Dhaka, Bangladesh in May both served as a catalyst to the recent measures. We also want to introduce an OIC film festival of our own.”
Al-Othaimeen delivered the speech on behalf Hesham Youssef, OIC assistant secretary-general for humanitarian, social and cultural affairs.
The current panel will discuss mechanisms to establish the award and devise the criteria for determining top production companies among member states during the upcoming festival, which is slated for February next year.