An open lecture on "Media space in the UAE" was held at the Institute for Armenian Studies of Yerevan State University on October 19. The lecturer was the head of the online radio "Ayk" in the UAE, Shake Mankasaryan. The lecture was about the coverage of printed and online materials, TV and radio news and the activities of news agencies.

Shake Mankasaryan presented the activities of printed media, media stations that work in English and Arabic languages in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. She talked about the media code of ethics in the UAE, as well as about critical journalism in the Arab countries, and conducted a comparative analysis with the Armenian media. The representation of materials concerning Armenia in the UAE was also discussed. Mankasaryan noted with regret that there is no financial support from state or community organizations, the existing websites, blogs and agencies work only through the donations of the individuals. According to her, the representation of the Armenian materials is also very little in the Emirates. Even if there is coverage, it is in the context of religious events, and its printed form is represented under the auspices of the Armenian Church.

Then the style, activities and problems of radio and television stations functioning in the Emirates were presented. The activities of the Armenian community of the United Arab Emirates, the coverage of community issues on television were also discussed. Speaking about online radio "Ayk", Mankasaryan stressed that it is in Eastern and Western languages and has its audience in different countries. The radio station also collaborates with the Armenian community of America, Australia, the Public Radio of Armenia, "Yerkir Media" TV, etc. 

All the main channels and in general Arab media platforms that actively cover the current problems of the country on the background of rapid changes were presented. According to the lecturer, satellite broadcasting provides the audience with a wide opportunity of choice, and here, of course, the radio yields its position; however, it still has its faithful listeners.

The meeting was attended by the students of YSU Faculty of Journalism, respresentatives of the teaching staff, IAS employees, who in the course of the lecture were actively discussing the similarities and differences in the sphere and were comparing media fields of various countries.

It should be noted that YSU IAS plans to periodically conduct such open lectures in order to present the peculiarities of not only the Armenian Diaspora printed and online media, but also the activities, style and characteristics of the media of that country.