WOW Illuminates the Transformative Power of Media and Literary Magazines
- Enheduana
- Sep 29
- 8 min read
At the Second World Writers’ Congress, Round Table №3, organized in Moscow by World Organization of Writers (WOW) convened under the evocative title “Media and Literary Magazines: From Information Simulacra to a Semantic Guide,” moderated by Ashraf Aboul-Yazid of Egypt.
The session gathered a constellation of voices from across the globe: Marsel Salimov (Russia), Adel Khozam (UAE), Shirani Rajapakse (Sri Lanka), Prof. Dr. Laeed Zaghlami (Algeria), and Aisha Hamad Said Al Darmaki (Oman), with Dr. Hayam Abdelhamid (UAE) and Hasan Madan (Bahrain), the famous Arab columnist providing expert commentary. Each speaker explored the evolving role of media and literary journals in shaping public discourse, blending technological innovation with cultural and intellectual rigor, and redefining the interplay between information, creativity, and societal values. The discussion resonated as a meditation on how these platforms can move beyond mere news delivery to become instruments of meaning, equipping readers to navigate the layered complexities of cultural and social landscapes.
Margarita Al, President of World Organization of Writers (WOW), who initiated the themes of all 8 roundtables called the moderators to sum up the talks for concluding the sessions,
News Networking. The New Media Silk Road
About four decades ago, my journey with journalism began. I started at a local newspaper, and later joined the current of Master magazines—an alternative press movement that emerged in the 1980s, printed using offset technology, representing the unofficial trend of journalism in that era.
Then, in 1995, my professional career in cultural journalism formally took shape, whether through a quarterly magazine (Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman), monthly publications (Al-Arabi in Kuwait, Adab wa Naqd in Egypt, Congress of African Journalists CAJ Magazine in Nigeria, and Magazine N in Korea), international news agencies (Reuters in Cairo), or online platforms (AsiaN in Korea, 7 E-News in the United Arab Emirates, and most recently Silk Road Today in Egypt).
Through this long journey, it became clear to me that what we truly need is a new Silk Road—a media Silk Road, where pathways interconnect among media outlets across continents, creating supportive networks for cultural exchange and dialogue among peoples.
Within this framework, I contributed to the establishment of the International Media Protocol, and today we call on all interested parties to join this initiative. The protocol brings together media platforms from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Serbia, Yemen, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and beyond—working in multiple languages.
I also believe that publishing literature through these international platforms offers a significant opportunity for the World Organization of Writers to present their distinctive literary voices. This vision aligns with the Silk Road Literature series, which has already published the works of authors from four different continents.
Challenging Western media hegemony
The dialogue unfolded through vivid case studies and critical perspectives. Prof. Laeed Zaghlami posed a compelling question: “When African media hubs challenge Western media hegemony,” examining how Western conglomerates dominate global news while often marginalizing African perspectives. He highlighted the rise of media hubs in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, which are producing high-quality content and expanding spaces for local audiences:
“In my short expose, I will focus on Africa as a case study, which is unfairly described as a hopeless and bleak continent. Africa, unloved by the media, remains at the centre of political analysis in Western media, despite the end of the East-West conflict. Many people in the Western world generally display a significant lack of knowledge about Africa. There is evidence of the modus operandi employed by Western media to specifically disseminate negative information when reporting, communicating or broadcasting anything concerning Africa. However, what is remarkable is the emergence of media hubs in certain African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. In my proposal, I will explain how the media in these countries function rather well, excelling in the production of high-quality content and providing technological facilities and alternatives to ensure more space for their audiences.”
Meanwhile, Marsel Salimov recounted the storied history of the Bashkir satirical magazine Khänek, where he served as editor-in-chief for thirty years. Celebrating its centennial, Khänek exemplifies press trust and cultural resilience, having twice been honored by the Supreme Soviet of Bashkortostan and included in the Golden Fund of the Russian Press. These presentations, alongside insights from other distinguished speakers, underscored the critical role of literary magazines and media as cultural beacons—guiding dialogue, preserving heritage, and fostering a shared, meaningful understanding in an increasingly globalized world.
Marsel Salimov is People’s Writer of Bashkortostan, Honored Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation and the Bashkir SSR, as the classic of Bashkir literature Mustai Karim wrote, “an outstanding contemporary satirist,” Marsel Salimov. Since 1973, after graduating from university and completing military service, he worked at the editorial office of the satirical magazine Khänek (“Pitchforks”) until his retirement: first as a literary staff member, then as department editor, and for 30 years as editor-in-chief (1980–2010).
Adel Khozam, poet, writer and media personality, Dubai TV, UAE, emphasized the moral responsibility of writers and poets, describing literature as a force that confronts injustice, liberates minds from ignorance, and opens windows of hope when the world is closed. He argued that in a global landscape marked by wars, climate crises, pandemics, and economic inequality, writers have a duty to restore ethical balance and cultivate conscience. Khozam highlighted literature’s power to transcend political borders, unite diverse cultures, and create a shared human understanding. He also underlined the importance of collaborative initiatives—translating poetry, supporting emerging writers, and promoting creativity—as vital tools for sustaining the global literary community.
Shirani Rajapakse, poet and editor, Sri Lanca, presented a study on the role of online literary magazines and the blogosphere in reshaping literary discourse. She explained that digitalization has expanded access to literature, blurred the lines between traditional and digital media, and reduced the influence of gatekeepers. Online platforms, she argued, have democratized information flow, providing diverse perspectives on culture, politics, and social issues often neglected by traditional media. Using conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and the situation in Palestine as examples, Rajapakse demonstrated how digital media and literary anthologies offer multiple narratives and foster a broader understanding of global events. She also noted the historical limitations of Western-owned literary magazines, which frequently excluded marginalized voices, and described how online platforms have evolved into semantic ecosystems that empower writers worldwide to reach audiences, build communities, and redefine literary norms
Cultural Journals and Modern Technologies
Dr. Aisha Al-Darmaki, Assistant Professor, Arab Open University, Muscat, Editor-in-Chief, Nizwa Cultural Journal, said that the concept of culture depends on its survival and continuity on the vitality of a people’s cultural identity. Culture is both individual and collective, with multiple dimensions and variables encompassing all aspects of life as well as the aspirations of a nation’s people. In Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, T.S. Eliot raises a fundamental question: Who is responsible for establishing culture, and who are the intellectuals? Are they merely “a small minority, and therefore without a place in the society of the future?”—referring to the elite. This question opens the discussion of whether culture is elitist or popular.
This situates us immediately before a dual challenge: that of identity on one hand and globalization on the other. Identity concerns establishing the features, foundations, and frameworks of a society’s culture, while globalization focuses on societies’ openness to other worlds and their integration within them.
This is perhaps why Charles Taylor introduces the concept of modern identity in his book Sources of the Self: The Making of Modern Identity. He argues that cultural changes are driven by a variety of shifting practices—religious, political, economic, familial, intellectual, and artistic—that converge and reinforce one another. These transformations affect cultural self-understanding, shaping both individual and collective identity. Modern identity, Taylor emphasizes, has epistemic dimensions with direct implications for capitalism, influencing economic practices, societies’ ability to balance intellectual forces with economic realities, and the interplay between religious life, morality, and industrial progress.
In the context of globalization and this massive epistemic openness, the concept of the cultural project becomes central. When we discuss cultural journals today in light of these epistemic transformations, we must ask: Are cultural journals merely printed publications, or are they full-fledged cultural projects? This question becomes even more urgent considering the technological revolution, which has given rise to mass culture challenging elite culture, creating new relationships between globalization’s boundless opportunities—with its rapid transformations and communicative openness—and societies’ capacity to integrate them into daily life.
Cultural journals face enormous challenges—intellectual, economic, social, and political. While societal culture manifests the individuality of the communities that produce it, globalization represents the largest-scale manifestation of diverse cultures.
Institutions supporting cultural journals today must address several critical questions:
How can they harness rapidly advancing technologies to create a new cultural paradigm in content and dissemination?
How can print and digital publishing be reconciled as complementary mediums?
How can rigorous cultural writing be balanced with technological and political changes that influence mass readership?
These challenges point to two key areas:
Cultural Industry: A phenomenon created by technology within the interaction of social and cultural practices. Today, social media generates cultural forms previously unknown, fostering communicative patterns grounded in global openness—both in knowledge production and modes of cultural discourse.
Financial Policies: Cultural institutions often face budgetary constraints, pushing them toward disorderly or unsystematic publishing, sometimes criticized as lowering public taste. Yet many journals counter this by publishing young authors’ works—expanding readership and fostering literary and creative development—while balancing print and digital formats through websites, social media, and other platforms.
These dynamics have direct consequences: some journals survive, while others close under technological and financial pressures. Those that survive owe their resilience to the commitment of their founders and their adaptive flexibility, utilizing digital innovations—websites, social media, podcasts, and electronic creative writing spaces. Some journals have even shifted entirely from print to digital.
Thus, the relationship between culture and technology is grounded in specific ideological frameworks and clear objectives. Cultural journals must align their projects with contemporary realities without compromising the foundations that define their identity and reinforce societal values. If achieved, this balance allows cultural journals to leverage technologies and digital media to enrich and advance community culture, fostering a cultural renaissance that resists commodified “ready-made” cultural products while supporting writers committed to spreading knowledge and promoting cultural development.
Dr. Hayam Abdelhamid, former Editor-in-Chief of Emirates Today, also participated in the roundtable discussions on media ethics and its role in shaping a world free of bias.
It was a chance to get and advice for columnist Dr. Hasan Madan, Bahrain, on writing daily with variety of topics to attract a wide range of readers.
The discussions at Round Table №3 of the Second World Writers’ Congress highlighted the transformative potential of media and literary magazines as instruments of cultural guidance and intellectual engagement. Speakers from across the globe emphasized the need to move beyond mere information dissemination toward fostering meaning, dialogue, and shared understanding. Case studies from Africa, Bashkortostan, the UAE, and Sri Lanka illustrated how local media, literary journals, and digital platforms are reshaping narratives, amplifying marginalized voices, and democratizing access to knowledge.
The session concluded that sustaining literary culture in a globalized, technologically driven world requires collaboration, innovation, and ethical responsibility. By integrating tradition with digital tools, journals and media can preserve cultural identity, nurture emerging writers, and cultivate informed, critically engaged audiences. The roundtable reaffirmed the vital role of literature and media as bridges between communities, catalysts for dialogue, and guardians of human conscience.
Article: Ashraf Aboul-Yazid
Source: CAJ Magazine
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