5th World Media Summit issues joint statement in Guangdong

GUANGZHOU, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) — The 5th World Media Summit released a joint statement during its opening ceremony and plenary session at its main venue in Nansha District of Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province on Sunday.

The summit attracted more than 450 representatives from nearly 200 institutions, including media outlets, think tanks and international organizations, from over 100 countries and regions.

With the theme of “Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development,” the attendees conducted 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,” to explore ways for the media industry to address global challenges, the Joint Statement for the 5th World Media Summit said.

Noting that the world today is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, with uncertainties and unforeseen factors on the rise, the participants called on global media to build a bridge of communication to answer questions posed by the world, by the times and by history.

They expressed the 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 industrialization, and help resolve imbalances and inadequacies in development.

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, the document said.

We should disseminate factual, objective, comprehensive and unbiased news to our audience, resist misinformation, and oppose rumors and prejudices to uphold the authority and credibility of the media, it said.

The participants also called on 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.

It is believed that the 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 document said.

World Media Summit is an important global platform for high-level media exchanges and cooperation. Co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency and the provincial government of Guangdong, events at the main venue of the summit run from Dec. 2 to 6. ■