(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Irfan Bukhari |
The Peninsula
Guangzhou, China: The global media needs to pay more attention to the pressing demands of developing countries in areas such as poverty reduction, food security, financing for development, and industrialization, and help resolve imbalances and inadequacies in development, reads a joint statement issued at the opening ceremony of the 5th World Media Summit (WMS) in Nansha District of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province on December 3.
The summit, with the theme“Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development,” was attended by more than 450 representatives of about 200 institutions, including media outlets, think tanks and international organisations, from over 100 countries and regions.
The summit witnessed extensive and in-depth discussions on four topics, namely,“Bolstering Confidence: Media's Role in Promoting Human Development and Security,”“Embracing Changes: Media's Response to New Technological Opportunities and Challenges,”“Pioneering Innovation: Media's New Markets in the Digital Age,” and“Seeking Growth: Media's Worldwide Cooperation for a Better Future.”
The opening ceremony of the 5th World Media Summit in Guangzhou, China on December 3, 2023.
The aim of the discussions was to explore ways for the media industry to address global challenges.
“We note that the world today is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century. Uncertainties and unforeseen factors are on the rise, posing unprecedented challenges for human society. The international community needs to strengthen unity and cooperation more than ever before. Global media should build a bridge of communication to answer questions posed by the world, by the times and by history,” the joint statement noted.
“We hope that global media will pay more attention to the pressing demands of developing countries in areas such as poverty reduction, food security, financing for development, and industrialisation, and help resolve imbalances and inadequacies in development,” it added.
The statement added that amid the rapid development of new technologies in the information age, global media should adhere to journalistic ethics and meet professional standards while actively carrying out innovation, and make rational use of emerging technologies. "We should disseminate factual, objective, comprehensive and unbiased news to our audience, resist misinformation, and oppose rumours and prejudices to uphold the authority and credibility of the media,” it said.
Additionally, it urged global media organizations to strengthen cooperation, promote the common development of the world media industry, and facilitate mutual understanding and communication among countries and peoples with different historical backgrounds, cultural traditions and development status, so as to deliver greater stability and positive energy to a volatile world.
Front view of the venue of the 5th WMS in Guangzhou.
“We believe that this World Media Summit will encourage global media to build consensus, work together for high-quality development, and pool powerful media strength for building a community with a shared future for humanity and a better world,” the statement added.
In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Fu Hua, president of Xinhua News Agency, said that media organizations shoulder important responsibility in helping boost global confidence and promote common development.
“Confidence is more valuable than gold when facing difficulties,” Fu said, calling on attendees to use the media to convey positive energy, amplify voices that promote the development of human society, and encourage countries to join hands in addressing the challenges facing humanity.
The opening ceremony was also addressed by Yuan Bingzhong, Vice President of Xinhua News Agency, who thanked cooperating media outlets including The Peninsula, in his speech. This year's summit was co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency and the government of China's Guangdong Province.
The World Media Summit is an essential high-end platform for media exchange and coordination. It was jointly launched in 2009 by a collection of globally acclaimed media organizations including Xinhua News Agency, the Associated Press, Reuters, among others.
The World Media Summit is committed to promoting cooperation and development among media organizations. Since its inception, the World Media Summit has successfully organized the World Media Summit Global Awards for Excellence in 2014 and 2021, three training programs for media professionals worldwide and several large scale international public welfare projects
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