The event’s 12th edition, hosted by South East Fujian province, brought together some 200 executives from press institutions from more than 60 countries, sponsored by the China Media Group (GMC) at the Plaza Crowne Quanzhou Riverview hotel.
Delegates assessed the challenges brought by new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the use of digital platforms.
They also valued the ways in which people-to-people communication and cultural exchanges open new paths to international dissemination of information in a transparent, equitable, and truthful manner, as opposed to misinformation and fake news.
The forum also agreed on the significance of enhancing cooperation among media in developing nations, so that they do a better job in disseminating news and giving louder global voices to their own peoples.
In his turn at the floor, Prensa Latina’s representative at the Forum, Martin Hacthoun, explained how his agency created the portal Voices of the Global South, to which some 150 media contribute articles on their local realities, and called on delegates to join this project.
In turn, the president of the news agency, Luis Enrique González, called on the meeting to establish cooperation accords that help multiply news on current events in nations of the South.
For his part, Adrian Wells, director of the European News Exchange media group, said that artificial intelligence can disrupt information work, on the one hand, while its proper use can turn it into a useful tool for the media, on the other.
Director of the News and Media Division of the UN Department of Global Communications, Ian Phillips, warned about the misuse of social networks that spread fake news, making the fight against disinformation harder and posing a formidable challenge.
Editor-in-Chief of the GMC, Shen Haixiong, outlined the need to “establish a new framework for cooperation in the field of media. “We must promote a stronger voice for the Global South and jointly foster peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity,” he said.
Haixiong reaffirmed China’s willingness to “work hand in hand with media partners from countries in the Global South to launch a mechanism for dialogue and cooperation, so that their voices sound louder and their actions become more united, thus injecting a strong impetus into the cause of human modernization.”
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