By Mufutau Ojo
The Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Ali Muhammad Ali, says the media can contribute to the global peace process by building bridges of convergence between diverse people and groups.
Ali spoke on Monday in Guangzhou, China, at the ongoing 5th World Media Summit.
The Summit’s theme is “Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development”.
NAN reports that more than 400 delegates are attending the summit, with no fewer than 200 of them heads of mainstream media houses.
Ali, whose speech was entitled “Bolstering Confidence: Media’s Role in Promoting Human Development and Security”, set the tone for the syndicate discussion.
The NAN managing director also said the media could help promote peace by putting in place early warning mechanisms of potential conflicts or threats to peace.
Ali, who reflected on the crises bedeviling the global community, expressed the hope that fora such as the summit would further help in peace building, instilling trust in the media as well as promote the industry.
”Across the globe, humanity is facing one crisis or the other – economic crisis, environmental and ecological crisis, humanitarian and biodiversity crisis, education crisis, moral crisis, migration crisis, fake news crisis, among others.
“As a microcosm of the larger global community, the media is reeling under the burden of these crises.
“It is in the collective interest of our noble profession to use fora such as this to constantly drive conversations around instilling public trust in the media as well as drawing a roadmap for a thriving media industry,” he said.
The managing director also urged the media to use its vantage position to drive the process for sustainable human development and security across the globe.
“Whether as reporters of events, change agents, agenda setters and the conscience of society, there is no doubt that the media is at the centre of promoting sustainable human development and security,” he said.
(NAN)
