Dubai Media Academy leads the Artificial Intelligence track at Cairo ICT: Restructuring editorial staff in Arab newsrooms

The media sector in the Arab region faces a pivotal moment that requires a comprehensive redefinition of the role of human staff inside newsrooms, as automated generation tools are no longer limited to individual experiments but have become a central axis for reorganizing institutions. In this context, the management of the Cairo International Technology Exhibition and Conference for the Middle East and Africa (Cairo ICT), organized by Trade Furs International, announced the signing of a strategic memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Media Academy, a subsidiary of the Dubai Media Corporation, whereby the academy will lead and supervise the “Artificial Intelligence and Media” track within the third edition of the AIDC² conference, scheduled to take place under the umbrella of the exhibition’s thirtieth edition from 7 to 10 November 2026 at the Egypt International Exhibitions Center in New Cairo, under the patronage of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and with the support of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This step goes beyond traditional events to establish a framework that links Egypt’s historic production weight with the institutional and developmental structure in the Gulf.The new track is organized under the slogan “AI in Action,” a slogan that clearly aims to move beyond theoretical discussions about generative model capabilities and focus on the practical experiments of institutions that have already begun integrating these technologies into their daily workflows. The partnership is based on four operational pillars: supervising the agenda and selecting speakers; designing joint training programs and workshops to develop journalists’ and media professionals’ skills in employing generative AI and data analytics; organizing research sessions and knowledge-exchange meetings; and cementing ethical and professional practices for responsible use that protect content credibility and audience rights.

Dubai Media Academy director Mona Bu Samra explains that these efforts stem from the reality that Arab media cannot rely on importing ready-made solutions from foreign markets that do not respect the particularities of the Arabic language and local audience culture. The purpose of the joint discussion is to examine the outcomes of real-world experiments inside newsrooms: what has achieved genuine success? what real costs have institutions incurred? what changes have occurred in the relationship with readers? In the same vein, Trade Furs International chairman Osama Kamal asserts that artificial intelligence represents an opportunity for economic growth and accelerated development in the Middle East and Africa, noting that today’s real question no longer revolves around how much the technology can transform the media landscape, but rather how this shift can be harnessed to support the region’s regional presence and avoid marginalising its talent.

Restructuring media roles has become an organizational reality that is imposing itself on newsrooms in Egypt, the Gulf and the Levant.Professional analysis of what this movement entails reveals a fundamental shift in the skills required of journalists, editors and content creators. Media organizations in Cairo, Amman, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh no longer seek a traditional editor who is satisfied with gathering and shaping news; instead, there is a urgent need for talent that combines editorial sensibility with the ability to work with text, image and multimedia production tools, big-data analysis and tailoring content streams to audiences. Moving to practical implementation places editors-in-chief and human-resources managers before a decisive choice: either train existing staff on professional frameworks, or confront a sharp productivity gap with digital platforms that rely on advanced automation to reduce costs and accelerate publishing.

This shift also readjusts the cost and technology investment calculations for both independent and commercial news organizations. The partnership, which brings together prominent advisory and media players such as Forbes Middle East, Middle East AI News, and Jalal & Al-Karawi Consulting, alongside the launch of regional AI excellence awards, confirms that the next success metric will not be measured by the volume of output but by the quality and credibility of content in a digital environment crowded with AI-generated texts. And for every professional working in this field in the region, the message appears clear: the skill required today is not resisting digital tools nor fully surrendering to them, but acquiring the expertise that ensures human editorial judgment remains the final arbiter of a news story’s quality and integrity.