Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed, Chairman of the National Media Authority, said the UAE views media as a sovereign investment in social stability, not a secondary sector.

He said the UAE leadership considers media a strategic partner in shaping the future. It plays a key role in raising awareness, building trust and strengthening social cohesion.

Speaking at the Dubai International Project Management Forum, Al Hamed explained that the UAE manages its national media through a governance based approach. This approach equips media institutions with professional tools of influence.

As a result, UAE media has become a genuine bridge of communication within society. It also acts as a driver of sustainable development and an effective form of soft power that turns discourse into impact and vision into reality.

He said this comes at a time when the need is growing for responsible media. Media, he added, must lead without being swept along and influence without misleading.

Al Hamed made the remarks during a keynote session titled “Building Bridges Between Communities: Media As a National Ecosystem for Impact leadership | Governance | impact creation”.

He stressed that media today represents a form of soft infrastructure. It shapes how people understand one another. He compared it to an invisible bridge upon which collective societal awareness is built.

However, he warned that if this infrastructure is not managed wisely, it could become a source of division rather than cohesion.

Al Hamed cautioned that poorly considered media can create deep rifts within a single society. He said social cohesion cannot be managed through emotions or slogans, but through a professional media system that respects human diversity and manages differences strategically.

He noted that strong media does not exclude others or marginalise different voices. Instead, it creates a shared language for constructive dialogue that unites rather than divides.

He added that every cohesive and stable society is supported by media that explains and clarifies, not media that incites or provokes.

According to Al Hamed, media is no longer just a technical tool for conveying information. Rather, it has become an integrated national project aimed at building genuine rapprochement among different segments of society.

He said it is also a fundamental pillar in shaping the resilient social fabric on which modern states are built.

He stressed that responsible media does not chase short term gains. Instead, it invests in safeguarding the future.

He said the polarisation seen globally today is not inevitable. Rather, it is the result of hasty or undisciplined media discourse that feeds on division.

Al Hamed said the strength of conscious media lies in its ability to manage cultural and intellectual diversity without undermining unity. He noted that true influence does not mean controlling discourse, but guiding it wisely towards the public good.

He emphasised that building bridges between societies requires the courage to speak the truth using inclusive language. Strategically managed media, he said, becomes a calming force during crises, not a tool for escalation.

On misinformation, Al Hamed warned that false information is not just a media risk. It is a direct threat to societal trust, which he described as the most valuable social capital any nation can possess.

He called for proactive media risk management. Every uncalculated media message, he said, carries a real cost to the national project and negatively affects comprehensive development.

Defining sustainable media, Al Hamed said it must be governed by values and ethics before laws and regulations.

He said the success of any media governance system is not measured by the number of legal texts. Instead, it is measured by its ability to protect trust between media institutions and the public, and to safeguard credibility.

He noted that any project without a clear communication strategy is vulnerable to faltering. The role of media, he said, is not to embellish reality, but to place challenges in their proper context to strengthen trust.

He added that media also manages emotions and builds psychological stability, especially during periods of major transformation.

Al Hamed said national reputation is not built through campaigns or slogans. It is the result of a cumulative process shaped by real behaviour, balanced discourse and authentic experience.

He stressed that a country’s image is built on the credibility of information before the aesthetics of messaging. Alignment between words and actions, he added, is essential to earning international trust.

He concluded by saying that the greatness of nations is measured not by what they say about themselves, but by what the world perceives through their actions.

He affirmed that UAE media is the foremost sovereign interface translating national aspirations to the world. When managed as an integrated system, he said, its impact shifts from a fleeting shine to a lasting imprint in history.

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