The Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) Student Union and the University Public Affairs and Communications Office organized on Friday, March, 17, 2017, at noon, in Friends Hall, a conference held under the auspices of H.E. Minister of Information Melhem Riachi and titled, “Media in Lebanon and the Role of the Ministry of Information.”
NDU student Tonia Eid delivered the welcome note and was followed by NDU Vice-President for Public Affairs and Communications Mr. Suheil Matar who thanked the minister for attending the conference personally.
For his part, Minister Riachi spoke about the new laws he is currently working on, starting from the law protecting all media outlets (newspapers, TV); media ethics; and the law regulating the syndicate. He promised to assume the role of guardian of freedoms and work toward transforming the Ministry of Information into a ministry of dialogue and communications.
Concerning the new taxes the government intends to levy, Riachy said, “We reject all taxes that encroach on citizens’ rights… taxes on food and bread do not exist, and we will not accept taxing such staples; instead, we must approve the energy production project and seriously work toward deterring tax evasion and fighting corruption.”
Finally, Student Union President Assaad Dleptani thanked the minister and recognized the students who won the ACT competition; in addition, Mr. Matar distributed his books as a gift.