ZHEJIANG July 20th (ABP) – – The Deputy Chairperson of Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU), Shao Guoping, solemnly opened, on Wednesday July 19, 2023, the seminar for Journalism Organization Executives from the Belt and Road Countries, which was held from July 18 to 31, 2023, at the premises of the said university.
Through the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Burundi and within the framework of further strengthening media exchanges between China and Burundi, that seminar was attended by two Burundian journalists (that of the Burundi News Agency and that of the newspaper Le Renouveau), winners of the “Media Award” competition organized in March 2023 by the National Media Council (CNC).
In his speech, Mr. Guoping hoped that this seminar will provide participants with a platform to strengthen exchanges and share experiences. “It will also give you some lines for reflection on the media industry development. It will not only enhance media cooperation between China and the Belt and Road countries, but also encourage collaborative efforts among all participants to meet challenges in the digital age,” he continued to say.
According to him, the media play a crucial role in the transmission of information and in the orientation of public opinion. Media outlets set themselves the goal of publicizing social values, rallying public opinion, educating young people, developing culture, and displaying the image, he added.
The representative of all the participants in that seminar, Jomshed Olimoy from the Republic of Tajikistan in Central Asia, warmly thanked the Chinese government and the ZJNU for such a privilege granted to the various participants for this year. He expressed the desire to learn new and innovative ideas that will help Belt and Road countries boost the development of their media industries.
“China has set an outstanding example for developing countries through its remarkable achievements at the global level. As countries fighting for development, we have positioned ourselves for national cohesion, a free press, the protection of human rights, free quality education, the promotion of women’s rights and participation in the governance. We look forward to learning from the Chinese experience,” Mr. Olimoy stressed.
In his presentation on the Operation and Management of Media Industry, the Director of Jinhua Branch of Zhejiang Daily Press Group, Xu Xiaoen, revealed that based on official statistics of 2022, China has more than one billion Internet users, 98.8% of whom use mobile phones to access the Internet.
Thus, he pointed out, with the rapid rise of network communication, pure-text reports can no longer meet the needs of readers. Therefore, journalists must master the skills of photography, videography and image editing for media convergence, Mr. Xiaoen said, while revealing that in the current era with the development of technologies, the media are everywhere and anyone can be a journalist.
For his part, ZJNU Professor Tian Zhongchu pointed out in his presentation on Mass Media and Social Change in Contemporary China that the media has played an irreplaceable role in rebuilding social order, advertising events and worked as a guide for the public. From the years 1978, the country’s economy began to grow thanks to the flow of information transmitted in a well-organized order, hence the Chinese government opted to support the traditional media to adapt to the current era because, he underlined, the latter played a preponderant role in the development of the country, before the advent of the Internet.
With the mass media, he continued to say, people’s lives have undergone remarkable changes in clothing, diet, housing, transportation, culture, to name but a few.
It is worthy to note that more than 30 participants from various Belt and Road countries, attended that seminar.