Ammon News - HRH Princess Rym Ali, Founder of the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), called on promoting an effective partnership between the media and science in a world facing increasing challenges, and making sure that science-based facts are disseminated in a way that is easily understood by the public of all spectrums.

In a speech delivered on her behalf by Najwa Khuri-Bulos, Emeritus Professor and Founding Director of Infectious Disease and Vaccine Center at the University of Jordan (UJ), as part of the princess's participation in the opening session of the Arab Forum of Science Media and Communication, held online, Princess Rym touched on the role of the media in providing accurate and timely reports, and the importance of its commitment to the ethics of telling stories without causing any harm.

The princess said that the "Coronavirus" pandemic highlighted the media vital role, as is the case in all crises, especially since the media is responsible for ensuring that the information provided by governments, researchers, institutions and medical bodies is interpreted and formulated in a way that is easy for everyone to understand.

She added, despite the media's efforts, lies and misinformation overshadowed many scientific facts, which led to creating a fertile environment for conspiracy theorists that helped spreading the "information epidemic" related to the pandemic which increased faster, to the point that "Covid-19" was classified as a "hoax".

The 4-day virtual forum, in its first edition, discusses topics of "capacity building and facing challenges", and includes all stakeholders in the fields of media and scientific communication in the Arab world, according to the forum's organizers.

More than 400 participants and 50 speakers will attend the forum, which will hold more than 30 discussion sessions.