From Mahnoor MakhdoomKUNMING: South and Southeast Asian Editors and senior journalists have pledged to work together to ensure peace and harmony through professional media endeavors and to strive for a community with a shared future as they gathered here at the Cap[ital of China’s Yunnan province for South and Southeast Asian Media Network (SSAMN) Annual Meeting recently, held with the collaboration of Yunnan International Communications Centrer forSoiuth and Southeast Asia and Yunnan Daily Press Group.
Opening ceremony of the mega event, despite foreign guests from South and Southeast Aisan media houses, was attended by Senior Chinese Government Officials and Media professionals, including Zeng Yan, Member of the Standing Committee and Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, Qu Yingpu, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of China Daily, Wu Xu, Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Journalists Association, Khamphanh Pheuyavong, Member of the Secretariat of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and Head of the Propaganda and Training Board of the Party Central Committee, U Maung Maung Ohn, Minister of Ministry of Information of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Chhean Leang, State Secretary of the Ministry of Information of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Abeysekera Indrananda, President of the Sri Lanka-China Social and Cultural Cooperation Association and Makhdoom Babar, President of The Daily Mail, Pakistan and Chairman of Pakistan, China Media Friendship Association
The highlights of the event were keynote addresses moderated by Zhu Baoxia, Deputy Publisher of China Daily, and a roundtable discussion themed “Spanning Mountains and Seas, Forging Ahead Hand in Hand.”
The participants also praised the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping as a timely and constructive response to address contemporary complex international challenges.
They were of the view that more open and inclusive approaches featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity should be encouraged among the Global South countries to foster solidarity and collaboration.
“As a highland for global cooperation and development, Asia stands at a new starting point toward achieving comprehensive revitalization. It is significant for members of the media network to effectively communicate and interpret the GGI to their domestic audiences, thereby transforming it into a collective action for promoting world peace and development,” said Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily.
Qu urged network members to conduct joint interviews, coproduction and content exchanges on topics including modernization, global and regional governance, as well as international cooperation. He also called for innovative collaboration to enhance Asia’s voice globally, contributing to world peace and development.
“Global governance emphasizes multilateralism and advocates for an equal and orderly multipolar world, and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. Such values are widely recognized by the Global South,” said Chhean Leang, Secretary of State at Cambodia’s Ministry of Information.
Indrananda Abeysekera, founder and Chairman of the Organization for South Asian Regional Friendship and Cooperation with China in Sri Lanka, said the GGI emphasizes peace and equality, which has been illustrated perfectly by Chinese history and culture, which values “unity with diversity and harmony amid difference” — a principle also appreciated by people in Sri Lanka.
Soy Sopheap, founder of DAP Media Center in Cambodia, said media alliances and regional cooperation play vital roles in promoting collaboration within the region and strengthening friendship among peoples.
“Fair and multilateral governance is important as conflicts and misunderstandings now happen more frequently and the media should shoulder their responsibility to bridge the perception gaps. Media should make joint efforts on information exchange, boosting mutual understanding and building trust among nations,” he said.
During the interactive sessions, media professionals from South and Southeast Asian countries held verya detailed and highly productive discussions. They not only exchanged views over regaional and international issues but elso explored new and unique ideas to move together for ensuring peace, harmony and warmth through joint efforts while they also held detailed discussions over challenges being faced by media in the region and discussed ways to counter these challenges through synchronized efforts.
It appeared that during these discussions, the main issue, came under focus was the menace of fake news misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by some mainstream medias and also by social and digital media users. Participants also exchange views at a round table forum themed “Spanning Mountains and Seas, Forging Ahead Hand in Hand”.
The event attracted more than 140 officials and senior media participants from 11 countries and also p[rovided the participants the opportunities to explore Kunming City and places ;like Rock Forest etc with amazing hospitality and spectacular arrangements by the hosts.
