Off to Beirut

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Next Saturday I will be flying to Beirut, Lebanon to participate at the 2nd Arab Free Press Forum, a media conference organized by the World Association of Newspapers and An-Nahar daily. The conference will provide an overview of the latest press developments in the Arab world, from obstructive government policies, to case studies of newspapers that combine editorial independence with commercial success, to the rise of blogging and the role blogs play on the Arab media scene of today.

I will be speaking on the second day of the conference on a discussion panel titled “Blogs, an Alternative Way of Telling the News.” I’m humbled to be joined on the panel by Egyptian A-list blogger Wael Abbas, Jordanian blogger Mohammed Azraq, and Wadih Tueni, IT Manager of An-Nahar. The panel is moderated by Egyptian human rights lawyer Mohammed Abdelfattah.

It will be my first time to speak in a conference so I’m excited and nervous but I’m also looking forward to it. I hope I will be able to update the blog from Beirut, but I read that using the internet in Lebanese hotels is outrageously expensive. If any of you will be in Beirut at the same time and would like to meet up, drop me a line and we will see if we can pull something off.

15 thoughts on “Off to Beirut”

  1. Eyyy Ahmed, you earned it ! I am so excited for you. Just imagine. It will be about the ‘arab world’ (I think) but in all I’m sure you’ll give a good presentation of blogs and their importance all together.
    Good luck!!
    and I’m looking forward to reading about your experiences there.
    (btw: you are traveling a lot lately, you lucky boy :D )

  2. I am so proud of you! I am so excited you will be speaking at a conference, representing KSA. I wish you all the best. Good luck, and let us know how it all went!

  4. U know something ahmad , u humble guy ;)
    U r manifesting pride in our souls on different levels especially the intellectual.
    How Big are we ?
    BIG enough as the WILL of the few us.
    Remember ,whenever u r abt to give that speech/presentation that all your folks are proud !
    Cheers

  6. Ahaaaa then you are Ahmad Al Omran who will speak in the conference !!

    Hehehe actually i read the conference announcement but i didnt know that Ahmad Al Omran is Saudi Jeans, its good to know that i will meet there one of the bloggers whose blogs are familiar :)

    I think they should have inserted the blogs links of the bloggers speacking in the conference.

    see you on Saturday :)

  7. Hello There
    my dear Sister 7ala ….. you know that in islam woman are more then diamonds alhamdolellah and they are not being used by others (like tissues )
    think in the right way and you will see how its wrong to meet ahmed……….you are precious 7ala
    dont lose that……

  8. Thank you for your advice, but i dont need someone to tell me what is right and what is wrong!

    I will meet many people in the conference and Ahmad will be one of them, thats it! msh fahmeh leh betfassro kol shi in a wrong way!!!!!

  9. I think Ahmed is quite precious as well, each in his own field, what’s the fuzz? Why wouldn’t someone be allowed to meet fellow-bloggers? I can say I am quite jealous in 7ala. To meet sensitive people like Ahmed is a privilege. I suppose it is true the other way around as well, but I cannot read 7ala’s blog since it is in arabic.

  13. Ahmed I am sure you will do great.. good luck and will look forward to hear about your experience in your posts.. by the way presenting in a conference is no big deal.. just take a deep breath and start singing.. one thing that helps me sometimes is let a familiar face sit in front so you can look at when you get anxious it would comfort you and then when you get into the presentation you will start looking at every one because you will get excited about what you are saying.. there is a say in showbiz ” imagine people in their….”

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