Under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Muhammad Othman El-Khosht, President of Cairo University, and Prof. Dr. Hanan Gunaid, Dean of the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, and under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Nermin Al-Azraq, Head of the English Section at the Faculty, and Prof. Dr. Samah Al-Mohammadi, Vice Head of the English Section, EMCCU organized on Wednesday, a seminar entitled "Photo Culture and Ethics", in the presence of Prof. Dr. Mona El-Hadidi, Professor at the Department of Radio and Television at the Faculty, the journalist Mrs. Zainab Abdellah, Editor-in-Chief of Youm7, Mr. Hossam Diab, Editor-in-Chief of the ONA Media Group, and Dr. Abdel-Gawad Abu Kab, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Media and digital transformation Foundation, and the photojournalist Magdy Ibrahim, head of photojournalists Division at the Syndicate of Journalists.

The seminar activities began with a welcome speech from Prof. Dr. Nermin Al-Azraq, in which she welcomed the attendees from the platform and the students who were keen to attend and interact due to the importance of the topic, as it affects the ethics of the profession and the role of the journalist and media practitioners in adhering to the profession’s regulations in light of the challenges they face and the spread of fake news and images.

In her speech, Prof. Dr. Mona El-Hadidi, professor at the Department of Radio and Television at the Faculty, said that the culture of the image has existed since the ancient Egyptians, and the walls of the temples testify to that, and to photograph all aspects of daily life to document them through the image. Therefore, the use of the image in the modern era has become an indispensable necessity. However, professional and ethical controls and standards for journalistic work must be taken into account, and that the media is witnessing misuse of images without taking into account privacy considerations, especially in the age of technology, such as falsifying images and publishing false images for malicious purposes.

Mrs Zainab Abdellah explained at the beginning of her speech that the Faculty of Mass Communication has a major role in teaching professional ethics and teaching students the importance of adhering to ethical codes in journalistic work, which is reflected greatly on the profession, stressing that the image has a very strong impact and even contributed to social changes as well as revealing Negative sides in the society, as there are many press photos that changed the course of history. History is full of historical events in which the photo and press photo have greatly influenced, because the photos are documentation of the event and give the reader a sense that he is part of the event and witnessing it on the ground. She added that the journalist must weigh the benefit or harm of publishing the photo before publishing it, keeping in mind the ethical standards of the profession.
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The photojournalist, Mr. Hossam Diab, emphasized that the picture is worth a thousand words, as it is the photojournalist`s message to the reader to convey the meaning. The media is currently witnessing cases in which the image may be misleading or fabricated, which leads to misleading the public, especially with the use of modern technologies and Photoshop. Diab stressed the need to abide by the press code of ethics, which is the guide for the journalist and photographer in publishing photos, and observe the principles of the profession, especially when photographing in the street or using lighting in a specific way.

Dr. Abdel-Gawad Abu Kab said that the photo crosses borders and that any journalistic story without a photo is a fragile story, and the journalist today must have the skills of photojournalism. He added that the main challenge facing the journalist today is to achieve the journalistic goal of publishing while at the same time preserving the ethics of the profession, because the artificial intelligence revolution has changed and will completely change the concept of the image and the culture of the image and imposes new challenges for the journalist to confront fabrication and practices in which there is misuse of images.

Mr. Magdi Ibrahim, Head of the Photographers Division in the Syndicate, said that the press photo is a visual message in a creative form, with evidence that there are certain events linked in the public’s mind to the photo and to the visual or photographic memory of the individual, at sometimes ended wars. He added that the ethics of publishing photos has become of great importance, especially in the age of the Internet, considerations of competition and speed that control journalistic work and the journalistic scoop factor, which prompts the journalist to strike a balance when deciding to publish. Ibrahim concluded his speech by saying that the journalist must be aware of the legal framework that governs the process of publishing photos.

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Photography By: Omar El-Naggar