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ON THE FRINGE of the 39th Cairo International Book Fair, a heated debate engaged four journalists representing Egypt and Italy in a discussion of the role of the media in intercultural knowledge and understanding. The occasion was a seminar organised by the Italian Embassy and held at the Press Syndicate in Cairo; and it featured Assem El-Kersh, editor in chief of Al-Ahram Weekly, Abdullah Hassan, chairman of the Middle East News Agency (MENA), Franco Venturini, editor in chief of the Corriere della Sera and Neliana Tersigni, bureau chief correspondent at the Italian television network Rai. Coordinated by Boris Biancheri, chairman of the ASNA news agency, the seminar was attended by Italian ambassador Antonio Badini.

While Venturini expressed pessimism regarding the possibility that the media could help bridge the still widening gap separating the West and Islam, El-Kersh, while not entirely optimistic, thought it likely that the media should be able to help rectify misconceptions and eliminating stereotypes on both sides -- but only if the media apparatuses could shed their own biases, performing their duty with objectivity and balance. He conceded that some Arabs and Muslims are responsible for the negative image of the Arab and Islamic world in the West. For his part Hassan emphasised the danger inherent in the explosive political situation in the region and the necessity of a just resolution to Arab issues. All agreed that the gap will only widen unless a more positive and mutually cooperative view of the other was adopted by all sides.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/830/cu4.htm