At the 29th AMIC Annual Conference, the Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD) bared its plan to launch an Asian-African Studies Programme as one of the concrete outputs of the conference.

Rizky Abdullah, PhD, UNPAD’s Director of Research and Community Service said that the AMIC “will be a leading partner of UNPAD” in this programme which will be formally introduced in 2024 in time for the 70th anniversary celebration of the Bandung Conference.

Recognizing that the Asia-Africa cooperation is part of the global trend toward internationalization of education, Abdullah said that UNPAD believes that “before we seek global cooperation with higher education institutions (HEIs) from different continents, we should prioritize partnership with HEIs from the African continent because Asia-Pacific and Africa HEIs have many commonalities in terms of development issues, challenges and opportunities.”

Among the initiatives being primed for the Asian-African Studies Programme are sharing and exchange of lessons and experiences in addressing common development issues and concerns, especially in communication and information; sharing and exchange of lessons and experiences, especially best practices, in development work and in Communication for Development (C4D); and the promotion of Afro-Asian communication scholarship through collaborative academic initiatives.

Abdullah added that they want the programme to foster networking among Asian and African professionals and institutions for collaborative programs/projects in research, publications, forums, and faculty/student exchanges. At the same time, he expressed willingness to explore the feasibility of adopting a mechanism for inter-continental consultation toward consensus-building for current and emerging global communication issues.

“These action points are aligned with the Bandung Communique which provides that ‘the promotion of cultural co-operation among countries of Asia and Africa should be directed towards the acquisition of knowledge of each other’s country, mutual cultural exchange, and exchange of information’,” he said.

The UNPAD and AMIC will also invite the UNESCO to be a major partner in the proposed Asian-African Studies Programme. “We have noted that UNESCO’s global priorities are Africa and Gender Equality,” Abdullah said.

He also called on different government agencies, higher education institutions, professional associations, and media agencies to partner with UNPAD to “realize the vision of the 1955 Bandung Conference especially in the area of communication and information.” (END)

By Danilo Araña Arao
Editor, Media Asia

Media Asia celebrated its golden year in 2023 with more manuscript submissions, early issue publications and higher citations.

From January 1 to December 18, 2023, new manuscript submissions increased by 64.55% compared to the same period in 2022. This could be attributed to the journal’s respectable turnaround time in handling manuscripts. On the average, the articles included in Volume 50 were published online in 206.46 days (refereed articles) and 52.67 days (non-refereed commentaries and reviews) from the date of submission. The authors’ trust in the journal is apparent even if the acceptance rates are 10.11% (refereed articles) and 30.35% (non-refereed ones) based on the final editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted from 2020 to 2023.

The quarterly journal’s Volume 50 issues were published two to three months ahead of schedule. The issue titles are Education and Perception (March 2023), Challenges (June 2023), Framing (September 2023) and Relevance (December 2023). With a cumulative total of 674 pages, these issues have 52 articles (i.e., 24 refereed articles, 8 commentaries, 16 reviews and 4 editorials). Following an early view system, all articles in Volume 50 were already published online from May 2022 to July 2023 even before the assignment of volume, issue and page numbers.

Notwithstanding the low acceptance rates, this situation shows that the journal has enough articles not only to produce upcoming issues in 2024 and 2025 but also to publish the issues ahead of time. In fact, the March 2024 and June 2024 issues are already 100% complete as early as the third quarter of 2023. The September 2024 issue, on the other hand, is 91.67% complete and only needs one more refereed article to complete the line-up. Articles have also been included in the December 2024 issue, making it 41.67% complete. As regards the 2025 issues, there are already 6 non-refereed reviews lined up for the March and June issues.

Media Asia has a Q2 CiteScore Best Quartile with a score of 0.9 in both Scopus CiteScore 2022 and Scopus CiteScore Tracker 2023 (as of December 9). From 2019 to 2022, the journal had 57 citations from 64 documents. As regards latest data in 2023, the journal had 92 citations from 100 documents. This is an improvement from the journal’s Scopus CiteScore 2021 which was pegged at 0.5 (i.e., 30 citations from 66 documents). The journal’s Q2 status means that it is ranked in the 25% to 50% group in the same field.

Media Asia is a peer reviewed journal that focuses on practices in journalism, advertising, public relations, entertainment and other aspects of media in Asia. The journal’s editorial board is composed of eight women and four men who are based in nine locations in Asia, Europe and North America.

The Editor is Danilo Araña Arao (University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines). The Associate Editors are Lisa Brooten (Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA), Roselyn Du (California State University Fullerton, USA), Eunice Barbara C. Novio (Vongchavalitkul University, Thailand), Sheau-Wen Ong (Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China), Paromita Pain (University of Nevada Reno, USA) and Nick Y. Zhang (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong). The Editorial Advisory Board is composed of Sarah Cardey (University of Reading, UK), Ataharul Chowdhury (University of Guelph, Canada), Minjeong Kim (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea), Deborah N. Simorangkir (Swiss German University, Indonesia) and Tom Sykes (University of Portsmouth, UK).

SG Tuazon Keynotes 7th National Media Conclave

AMIC Secretary-General Ramon R. Tuazon gave the keynote address in the 7th National Media Conclave organized by the Institute of Media Studies of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar in India. Another keynote speaker was Dr. Chandrabhanu Pattayanak, AMIC representative to India.

The theme of the conference was Digi-Tech, Media, and Democracy. AMIC was an academic partner of the event which was held on 21-23 November 2023.

According to SG Tuazon, the theme is most urgent considering that digital technology has emerged as the major disruptor of freedom and democracy worldwide. As a disruptor, it either facilitates or hinders the enjoyment and exercise of inviolable freedoms guaranteed in a democracy.

SG Tuazon described issues related to digital technology and democracy as two sides of the same coin. One side looks at the applications of technology in sustainable development initiatives. The other side examines equity issues including access to digital technology. He lamented that there has been considerable interest in the applications side but not much attention is given to equity issues.  

He reminded conference participants that discourses on the impact of digital gadgets are incomplete if the mobile phone is not included as a “democracy icon” of the 21st century. He recalled that while many social scientists believe that mobile phones facilitated the 2010 Arab Spring that toppled a dictatorship, it has become difficult to repeat this “formula” as many autocratic regimes have developed their own “playbook” to counter-strike or stifle dissent through cyber surveillance, cyber-attacks, online censorship, internet shutdowns and blackouts, and website blacklisting.  

According to SG Tuazon, while digital technology provides enormous opportunities for the common good, the same digital platforms have also been used as vectors for disinformation, hate speech, conspiracy theories, and other content harmful to democracy and human rights. Current regulatory systems have yet to catch up with these challenges. This is the reason why UNESCO recently released the Guidelines for  the Governance of Digital Platforms. The Guidelines are the result of extensive global multi-stakeholder consultations that started in September 2022 including the Internet for Trust Conference organized by UNESCO last February 2023.

SG Tuazon, who is also UNESCO communication and information consultant for Myanmar, encouraged the conveners of the conference to organize another forum to discuss the features of the Guidelines which impact significantly on how people deal with digital technologies in their daily lives and in the lives of their nations.

The UNESCO has released the Guidelines for  the Governance of Digital Platforms. 

The Guidelines are the result of an extensive and collaborative effort that started in September 2022. It brought together a wide array of stakeholders through three global consultations, including one held during the Internet for Trust conference organized by UNESCO last February 2023.

The consultative process involved the engagement of people from 134 countries, including marginalized and vulnerable groups, generating over 10,000 comments. This made it one of the most extensive consultation projects ever conducted by a UN agency.

What are the Guidelines?

The Guidelines aim to safeguard freedom of expression and access to information online in the context of the development and implementation of digital platform governance processes. Specifically, the Guidelines outline a set of duties, responsibilities, and roles for states, digital platforms, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, media, academia, the technical community, and other stakeholders to enable the environment where freedom of expression and information are at the core of digital platforms’ regulatory processes.

Who will benefit from the guidelines?

The Guidelines will serve as a resource for a range of stakeholders – policymakers in identifying legitimate objectives, human rights principles, and inclusive and participatory processes that could be considered in policymaking; regulatory and other governance bodies dealing with the implementation and evaluation of policies, codes of conducts, or regulation; digital platforms in their policies and practices; and other stakeholders, such as civil society, in their advocacy and accountability efforts. News media can also benefit from these Guidelines in their ongoing efforts to hold powerful actors accountable.

An initiative within the UN Framework to Combat Global Information Threats

The Guidelines align with UNESCO’s commitment to the UN on the development of Our Common Agenda Policy Brief “Global Digital Compact” which sets the stage for a global, multi-stakeholder framework to ensure an open, free, and secure digital future based on the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 2030 Agenda. They also echo to the UN’s Code of Conduct for information integrity on digital platforms, currently being developed, which seeks to guide Member-States, digital platforms, and other groups in their efforts to make the digital space more inclusive and safer for all. 

What’s next?

UNESCO is supporting the creation of a network of networks of regulatory authorities including electoral management bodies and the epistemic community that together will work to monitor and evaluate the efficient implementation of the Guidelines at the global, regional, and national levels. 

By AMIC Secretariat

The Editor of Media Asia conducted a three-day training on election coverage for Bhutanese journalists.

Danilo Araña Arao, an associate professor of journalism at UP Diliman and a convenor of election watchdog Kontra Daya (Against Fraud), held it from November 13 to 15, in time for the 4th National Assembly elections scheduled on November 30.

Seventeen journalists from The Bhutanese, Business Bhutan, Kuzu FM, and Gyalchi Sershog participated in this activity.

The training aimed to have an overview of the election system in Bhutan; share knowledge, skills, and values in election coverage; and assess the participants’ knowledge, skills, and values through workshops.

Arao designed the program, in consultation with the Bodhi Media and Communication Institute (BMCI). Aside from Arao who discussed the basics of election coverage during the first day, other resource persons from the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) and the Journalists’ Association of Bhutan (JAB) presented election regulations and media guidelines during the second and third days.

Aside from inputs and case study presentations, the training consisted of workshops in news writing, interviewing and analyzing election coverage guidelines.

Embracing Digital Technology and Knowledge Brokering & Sharing

Participants emphasized the importance of tacit knowledge brokering and sharing, particularly the exchange of best practices, to address common communication media issues. Special attention was given to the implications of digital technology disruptions and the advent of Super Smart Society 5.0, driven by machine-learning-based artificial intelligence.

Media, Information & Digital Literacy and Communication Education for All

The continuous onslaught of disinformation in the global and local media ecosystem demands integration of media, information and digital literacy (MIDL) which empowers individuals to be critical and discerning media users and consumers as well as responsible and ethical content creators using various formats and platforms.

A critical priority highlighted during the conference was the need to enhance society’s competencies in digital literacy through “Communication Education for All” curricula. These curricula should be integrated into formal, non-formal, and informal education at all levels and across all fields.

Towards Consensus, Facilitating Cohesion on Global Communication Issues

The conference also advocated for more extensive efforts to explore the feasibility of adopting a mechanism for inter-continental consultation, aiming to build consensus, promote tolerance and societal cohesion on current and emerging global communication issues.

Promoting Networking and Collaboration

Recognizing the need for more venues for networking and collaboration, the conference called for increased cooperation among Asian and African communication professionals, practitioners, and institutions. This includes collaborative programs and activities in such areas as research, publications, capacity building, and faculty/students exchanges.

In conclusion, the AMIC’s 29th Annual Conference served as a bridge, connecting the past achievements of the 1955 Bandung Asia-Africa Summit Conference with the contemporary challenges and opportunities in the realms of communication and information. It reaffirmed the commitment to dialogue, cooperation, and shared learning between Africa and Asia to closer friendship and partnership, paving the way for a brighter, more interconnected future.