The Heikal Foundation for Arab Journalism, a non-profit organisation registered under Law 48/2002, promotes the development of Arab journalism, drawing on a long history of achievement in the field as it formulates the strategies needed to meet the unprecedented challenges now facing the profession.
It aims to facilitate the work of Arab journalists, empowering and fostering their ability to contribute to the comprehensive development of the nation. Programmes and activities will all centre on the work of the journalist, the only effective custodian of the future of the profession, and will be designed to promote the historic role of Arab journalism as the principal vehicle of enlightenment, encouraging Arab media to play an effective and constructive role within local environments and, alongside other progressive forces within the international media, to contribute to the growth of human knowledge and understanding.
The Heikal Foundation for Arab Journalism is a public service trust established by Mohamed Hassanein Heikal and his family to support the profession to which he has dedicated his life and with which his name has been synonymous for decades.
The Foundation's headquarters will house Mr. Heikal’s extensive library, including tens of thousands of books and documents, to be made available to researchers, journalists and scholars who meet fixed rules of access.
The Foundation is endowed with a renewable trust fund, provided by Mr. Heikal and his family. Throughout the phase of its establishment the Foundation will not accept contributions from any other parties though it may later accept outside contributions channeled towards activities and programmes it deems appropriate, and with complete transparency.
The work of the Foundation is overseen by a Board of Trustees comprising donors and prominent public figures. The head of the Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate is an ex-officio member of the Board. The total number of Board members will not exceed seven.
The Executive Bureau, responsible for formulating the Foundation’s policies and programmes and their day to day implementation, is appointed by, and answerable to, the Board of Trustees. The Executive Director of the Foundation is a member of the Executive Bureau, providing leadership across the Foundation's programmes and activities.
The communications and information revolution and the tumultuous political, social and economic developments to which the region has been exposed are transforming the practice of journalism - its fields of operation and influence – across the region.
Among the transformations are
The speed and scale of change has resulted, inevitably, in Arab journalism suffering “growing pains”. What was once taken for granted, in the area of management systems, work processes, editorial policy and the skills required of journalists is now being questioned. Press freedom, journalistic standards and ethics, self-regulation - crucial to a profession that endeavours to present its audience with the truth – are all undergoing fundamental revision.
The challenge facing Arab journalism is not only to keep abreast of the changes impacting the profession globally but to compete to the highest standard. Arab journalism cannot fall behind its counterparts in the rest of the world, North or South, East or West.