Twelve American University of Sharjah (AUS) female journalism students participated in this year's forum of future journalism held at the Sharjah Supreme Council of Family Affairs on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.
The forum, which is now in its second year, is organized by Marami Magazine, which is regarded as the voice of the Sharjah Supreme Council of Family Affairs.

Six of the twelve AUS students who participated in the event showcased their skills in different formats. Dina Ismail Tarik presented a paper on citizen journalism in the Arab world. She received an overwhelming standing ovation signaling the quality of the paper and her presentation as one of the best papers in the forum.    
Home, a film by AUS student Salma El Shahed, had its first screening at the forum, and it was well received by the audience as one of the best films that was shown.

Students Rezan Oueiti, Vismay Anand, Bushra al Faraj and Sherouk Zakaria also exhibited their work at the forum, and this drew a lot of interest from the other participants as well as the organizers.

"This was absolutely amazing, I had 13 items displayed on the forum such as a collage of pictures and logos from magazines forming an image of myself, photos from my photography class, a camera I made from a shoe-box," said Rezan Oueiti. "I also got an opportunity to be interviewed by Sharjah TV but the highlight of the forum for me is when Sheikha Aisha Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, came by our booth and talked to me about my work."

"It was really an honor for me to participate in that forum and to have my work displayed," said Vismay Anand. "In additional to our own works, we also showcased other works by the AUS Department of Mass Communication such as posters and the Global Media Journal, which is edited by the department."

This is the first time that AUS has been invited to participate, and the students were accompanied by Dr. Hania Nashef, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication and Internship Coordinator for the department.