Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosary inaugurated on Monday the first edition of the Hajj Media Hub initiative in Makkah. The hub, which will run through until June 16, is being held in a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Doyof Al-Rahman Program. The hub is part of the Media Transformation Program initiatives, which were announced by Minister of Media in the third edition of the Saudi Media Forum three months ago. The Hajj Media Forum aims to provide an integrated media environment to support media professionals in completing their coverage during the Hajj season. It is expected that more than 150 local, Arab, Islamic and international media outlets, and more than 1,500 local and international media professionals will benefit from the forum’s services. The hub is featuring the establishment of 11 supportive media zones, an interactive media exhibition highlighting the services provided to the guests of God, a headquarters for press conferences, a media center with integrated services, various studios, vehicles for direct dissemination of media materials, and the Virtual Press Center (VPC) with a specialized team participating in presenting via an interactive screen, providing continuous updates and services around the clock throughout the forum’s working days. The hub includes all sectors of the media system in one place to contribute to supporting the media work of all media figures and media outlets and to provide modern technologies to achieve more innovation in local and international media coverage during the Hajj season. As many as 15 governmental and private entities are participating in the Transformation Window, and these include the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the Royal Commission for Makkah City and the Holy Sites, the General Authority for the Care of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, the Saudi Water Authority, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the Doyof Al-Rahman Program. This comes in an environment full of interactive technologies, and reflects the major transformation in the services provided to the guests of God. The exhibition also narrates the most prominent projects and achievements provided to serve the Two Holy Mosques and their visitors, and future projects at the Holy Sites. The hub also includes a number of areas, most notably the welcome gate, hospitality area, transformation window, conference platform, studios and live broadcast area, media community area, media operations room, Hajj journey review area, and resting area, all on an area estimated at 6000 square meters at the Makkah Exhibition and Events Center, affiliated with the Makkah Chamber, the hosting partner of the forum.