Thanks to all our readers for making the UAE Students Blog an international hit! We've posted some of the most interesting comments on the new Top 4 Comments pages. People from all around the world have been visiting our blog, sharing their comments on issues that young people in the Arab world are discussing.
We publish stories before you see them in the Arab media. For example months before he was recently thrown in jail, we published a story about Saudi bloggerFaoud Al-Farhan. We also published stories about Mystique, Saudi Arabia’s most prolific female blogger before she was shut down.
When Egypt threw bloggers in jail students from the American University of Sharjah posted a video about the importance of blogging.
New York Times correspondent Hassan Fattah also spoke to students at A.U.S. Fattah noted the emotional impact of covering a war zone. He emphasized that reporters should remain fair and accurate. Fattah called for nonpartisanship, explaining that “when you are a journalist, you areno longer an Arab.”
In June 2007 we were nominated for a Student Journalism Award by Reuters, but more importantly our video, news and commentary has bridged international cultural divides. The rapid adoption of Internet technology by young Arabs has provided an unprecedented opportunity to connect with the world. Sometimes that means being jailed for blogging, or being blocked by the state’s Internet filters but that hasn’t deterred our contributors!
Please keep submitting ideas and comments, and tell a friend to visit.