Ulaanbaatar
Asia-Europe editors pledged creation of collaborative network in Ulaanbaatar
PoliticsUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ 8th ASEF Editors’ Roundtable Meeting (ERT8), one of the nine side events of the 11th Asia-Europe Summit, was successfully held at Best Western Premier Tuushin Hotel in Ulaanbaatar on July 7-8. Over 30 editors and senior correspondents from esteemed media organizations of Asia and Europe pledged agreement on furthering several levels of collaboration under the roundtable themed “Digital Connectivity”.
“You are now part of ASEF’s family, and it is the beginning to a long standing relationship with you. More than that, I hope that you would join us in an efforts to promote the vision and mission of ASEM,” said H.E. Ambassador Zhang Yan, Director of Asia-Europe Foundation, to the participants on closing the meeting. “We are still a long way from achieving the enhancement of visibility of ASEM and ASEF in general and in communities of Asia and Europe. There are many opportunities to collaborate and learn from each other on the meaningful platform of Asia and Europe.”
The editors agreed to establish Asia-Europe Journalists’ Network to communicate and exchange content online, and Asian-European Collaborative Journalism award to encourage collaborative journalism between the regions in their Recommendations of 8th Editors’ Roundtable document.
“We invited Asian and European journalists to workshops in Brussels and Guanzhou, collected all of their recommendations and ideas, and brought them as an undercurrent for the Roundtable here in Ulaanbaatar. The editors spent the first day discuss the value of collaborative journalism for Asian and European people’s lives,” said Dr. Mike McCluskey, International Media Consultant who moderated the discussions. “The editors supported the journalist’s suggestions unanimously, and also agreed to create semi-formal mechanisms of collaboration, which will overcome cultural misunderstandings, and language barriers.”
Participants represented 20 countries, including KBS (South Korea), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), Straits Times (Singapore), Independent (Ireland) and many more media organizations. The ERT8 was organized by Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), Mongolian Journalists’ Union (MJU), and Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
“With the collaborative process, we can get rich stories, not just from the political process or events, but actually from the people who are in each country. This is amazing in that the richness in each culture can be brought to life through the eyes of people who are working in local communities. We are telling global stories through local voices. “
