Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — Minister of Media Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad said that the great success of this year’s Haj, which enjoyed worldwide media coverage, reflects the great efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the service of pilgrims.
This was also instrumental in thwarting the agenda for politicization of Haj and machinations hatched in this regard, he said while addressing the closing ceremony of the annual reception held in honor of the media persons, who performed Haj as guests of the ministry, in Jeddah on Friday evening.
Al-Awwad congratulated the Kingdom’s wise leadership on the success of the Haj. On his behalf and on behalf of all media members, he thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for their keenness in making the Kingdom's Haj operation a resounding success.
He also extended his gratitude to all members of the Arab, Islamic, and international media delegations for their contribution to the success of the media coverage of the pilgrimage.
Al-Awwad said that the Kingdom is honored to serve the pilgrims, and that it will continue its efforts and harness all of its potentials to make the coming Haj seasons more successful. The minister underlined that the Kingdom has opened its doors to receive pilgrims from all around the globe and provided them with the most comprehensive services without differentiating between any one of them.
He said that the ministry has achieved a qualitative leap this year through working with its partners in government agencies and the media to implement the comprehensive strategic media plan to cover the Haj season.
Al-Awwad pointed out that the Ministry of Media has initiated the slogan of a uniform visual and verbal identity for Haj this year, titled “The World in the Heart of the Kingdom”, which is committed to by all the participating parties.
The ministry has also prepared a website dedicated to publishing Haj-related events titled “Hajj Media Portal: https://hajj.media.gov.sa", which was launched at a media event held on this occasion.
A strategic media plan for the Haj season was also launched in the presence of many officials and journalists, he said noting that the uniform verbal identity has made 18,333,192,272 impressions on Twitter.
Al-Awwad pointed out that the ministry has launched a uniform media center for government agencies involved in Haj in the Makkah region. He said 168 Saudi journalists and 818 international journalists have benefited from the information services provided by the ministry.
According to Al-Awwad, the ministry has produced a total of 1,419 media materials as well as 58 press releases, all of which were broadcast through 19 digital and traditional media channels in 62 languages and have reached 100 countries with 32,717,328 viewers around the world.
He said that the interview with prominent German television journalist Kristiane Backer had received around eight million views on various digital platforms.
Speaking on behalf of the European media guests of the ministry, Backer said her experience in Haj was so exciting and amazing. The Haj has given her a unique spiritual experience after reverting to Islam 23 years ago.
Sudanese Minister of Information Dr. Ahmed Bilal, former Egyptian Minister of Information Osama Heikal were among those who attended the ceremony.
