“How to be a prominent journalist”, an evening organized by Sharjah Islamic Bank as part of its Ramadan tent’s activities, was attended by a number of the bank’s officials, media and the public last Sunday night.

The evening was held at the Sharjah Islamic Bank’s Ramadan Tent and was broadcast live on Sharjah Radio through the daily program “Stay with us”, presented by Hassan Al Balghouni, Mohammed bin Dukhain and Rashid Al Kous. A number of UAE media celebrities − including Noor Dubai Radio’s Mohammed Yousef, Dubai Sport’s Ahmed Joka, as well as Sharjah Radio’s Hassan Yaqoub, star of the “On Appointment” programme and presenter of “White Card” − informed part of an open telephonic interview with the tent’s audience and Sharjah Radio’s listeners. The three media celebrities exchanged views with the audience, answered their inquiries in a humorous manner, spoke about the future of the UAE media, and reminisced about the funniest things they have ever done and of what goes on behind the scenes.

The evening showcased the early days of each guest, the difficult situations they experienced in their initial days in the media, changes in this sector, as well as the most important challenges facing nationals working in this industry.

The speakers focused on the importance of talent, abilities and innate capacity such as vocal capabilities for whoever wishes to work as a presenter, in addition to the importance of education and training to develop media skills that can lead to prominence in media. They said that contemporary media is in urgent need of qualified national talent who are specialized in all areas of media. The guests agreed on the necessity for media institutions to adopt strategic policies and plans, and to take care of qualified personnel across all media fields, from presenters, editors and executives to those operating in the simplest media specialty.

They said that joint efforts in this regard will further support the national identity, and that this identity will be reflected by media foundations with a high rate of national employees.

The guests pointed to the unlimited support they received from the country’s leadership in their career development in this particularly sensitive industry. They extended their thanks to the Sharjah Islamic Bank’s management for organizing the Ramadan Tent’s activities, and praised the effective role played by these meaningful activities, asking for similar initiatives to be organized for media representatives from different institutions in the country.

At the end of the evening, a draw was held for listeners of the “Stay with us” program –two of the three gifts were sponsored by Sharjah Islamic Bank and the other by the Sharjah Transport Authority – a grand prize draw of a laptop was also held for the tent’s audience.

The tent’s agenda includes a special evening dedicated to the Best Quran recitals entitled “Psalms of David”. It is scheduled for Tuesday, Ramadan 7th, under the supervision of Sheikh Sherzad. The evening will be broadcast live on Sharjah Radio and will be followed by a children’s evening on Thursday. Another evening, entitled "A Night of Taiba’s", is scheduled for Friday, August 20th, and will be presented, in cooperation with the Watani Program, by Dr Mustafa Ammar Manla, Director of the Historical Documents Center in Madinah, KSA. He will deliver a narrative explanation on the history of Madinah and will be presenting various documents and historical materials during the evening.

The organizing committee of the Sharjah Islamic Bank Ramadan Tent is also organizing daily draws for the audience, which includes prizes such as laptops, plasma screens and mobile phones, as well as other electronic devices.