Recently, the World Media Summit was held in China, in which media representatives from various countries and regions, including Pakistan, participated. It is an important forum to address media related global issues & bring together prominent media personalities and influential media organizations from around the world to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Here it is important to know what the World Media Summit actually is and why the importance of this summit is increasing in today’s rapidly changing world. The concept of holding this summit was first presented by the Chinese media organization Xinhua in 2008. The aim of which is to facilitate exchange among leading media groups around the world on the challenges faced by the emergence of “New Media” and to increase win-win cooperation between media organizations. On the same basis, a meeting of media organizations with global influence held and the summit was launched with the cooperation of participating media organizations. Prominent media organizations included Xinhua News Agency, Associated Press, Reuters, Tass Russian News Agency and the first summit was held in Beijing in 2009.
It was followed by Moscow in 2012, Doha in 2016, and Beijing in 2021. The 4th World Summit was hosted by video link. Over time, the World Media Summit has demonstrated its commitment to inclusiveness and diverse representation of global media perspectives. From senior executives and managers to seasoned journalists and media scholars as well as press officials, the Media Summit seeks to foster dialogue, share insights and collectively address the multifaceted challenges facing contemporary media. Since its inception, the World Media Summit has shown significant progress in efforts to promote international public exchange as well as exchange and mutual learning between civilizations.
A series of documents have been issued to strengthen media relations and promote cooperation during the various sessions of the summit. These include the World Media Summit Joint Statement, the World Media Summit Convention on the Protection of Intellectual Property in Media Results, the World Media Summit Doha Statement, the Shanghai Consensus of the Presidential Meeting of the Fourth World Media Summit, and the Fourth World Media Summit Joint Statement. During this period, several activities have been successfully organized to enhance practical cooperation. For example, the World Media Summit Global Awards for Excellence were held in 2014 and 2021. Training programs were organized for media professionals from Asia, Africa and Latin America and several large-scale international public welfare projects were launched. Similarly, the summit’s highest decision-making bodies were established as part of the day-to-day administrative structure. And through the establishment of the Secretariat, the World Media Summit has made significant progress in institution-building, which ensures the long-term stability and growth of the forum.
When it comes to the fifth world media summit, it is significant in the sense that it was hosted by the two Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Kunming. This summit was also a little distinguished in terms of its size, in which 101 countries and regions participated. More than 450 participants, nearly 200 representatives from mainstream media, think tanks and government agencies as well as international organizations attended and advanced discussions and consultations in the hope of reaching practical cooperation. The summit, under the theme “Promoting Media Development”, focused on enhancing media confidence, addressing the opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies, exploring new markets in the digital age, and a shared future in global media cooperation. A detailed discussion was held on many important topics, including the emerging role of global media, which definitely highlighted the role of the media in solving the problems facing the world today and the best effort to promote harmony and public exchange between countries has also been made.
