Media professionals from around the world on Tuesday called for greater efforts to strengthen people-to-people communication and cultural exchanges at the 12th Global Video Media Forum (VMF), aiming to open up new horizons for international communication.
The two-day VMF, which opened in Quanzhou in east China's Fujian Province on Tuesday, brought together 200 representatives from mainstream media and international organizations from over 60 countries and regions to the historic coastal city.
Hosted by the CCTV Video News Agency (CCTV+) the event was held under the theme "Intelligence Without Frontiers, Vision Beyond The Horizon -- Media's Role in Communication and Cultural Exchange."
At a sub-forum held on Tuesday afternoon, guests shared their views on the importance of enhancing inter-cultural communication to ensure the development of the media industry against a series of changes and challenges.
The media has a clear and obvious role in promoting people-to-people exchanges, as it can share various cultural elements from diverse cultures and different regions with audiences from all over the world through media channels, said An Xiaoyu, Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief of China Global Television Network (CGTN), and Director General of the China Media Group (CMG) Asian and African Languages Programming Center, who added that CGTN remains committed to accommodating more voices and promoting more such exchanges.
Ian Phillips, Director of the News and Media Division under the United Nations Department of Global Communications, called on journalists and content creators from around the world to combine their expertise and harness their collective power to help break stereotypes. He said more should be done to identify stories of mutual interest and tell them properly, so as to better connect cultures and create deeper understandings.
Martin Hacthoun, Chief Editor and the Director of Communication and Image under the Prensa Latina, a Latin American news outlet, said the main challenge for media agencies is to convey clear, transparent and equitable information, saying the more they relay information and agree to coordinate their relations, the more important their role will be in a global context.
Others pointed to the challenges traditional media outlets are facing in engaging with new audiences amid on ongoing technological transformation, with Ravichandran Durairaj Johnson Paul, Executive Editor of International News Services of the Malaysian national news agency Bernama, saying his organization has been trying its best to reach out to audiences through different platforms, especially the younger generation.
Launched by CCTV+ in 2011, the VMF has grown into a premier platform for media professionals from around the world to discuss the latest trends in video content communication and innovation, with the event also aiming to foster greater interaction and collaboration between domestic and international media.
Cultural exchanges open up new horizons: global media professionals
