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Media to play greater role in realizing post-2015 MDG agendas
A global forum in Bali has called on the media to play a greater role in pushing for social development as a new period of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is scheduled to begin by the end of 2015
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global forum in Bali has called on the media to play a greater role in pushing for social development as a new period of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is scheduled to begin by the end of 2015.
Speakers at the three-day forum, entitled 'The role of media in realizing the future we want for all', agreed that media could and should be more involved in devising and implementing the post-2015 MDGs policies.
'Media can help to overcome [the sharp imbalances and feelings of injustice plaguing the world],' United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Jakarta office director Hubert Gijzen said in his opening speech at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center.
According to him, as the deadline for the current MDG draws near, many underdeveloped and developing countries are failing to catch up to developed countries.
'We live in a world where the richest own about 40 percent of global assets while the bottom half owns only 1 percent,' he said. 'Millions of people die every year of curable diseases.'
Yanuar Nugroho, special advisor with the Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development (UKP4), pointed out how the media had so far failed to provide sufficient coverage on issues related to development.
'Media has a myopic understanding of development,' he said. 'Development is a complex issue.'
Yanuar cited an example of how the media in Indonesia rarely covered the issue of maternal mortality rates.
'Sixteen thousand women die in Indonesia each year giving birth. That's equivalent to one Boeing 777 crash per week, yet the media misses the story,' he said.
According to Yanuar, the rapid growth of social media further complicates the picture.
'The cost of this new media is banality. We are very shallow now because there is so much information, yet we don't have the time to digest it,' he said.
However, that did not mean traditional media could not utilize new media to obtain information, said international broadcaster Femi Oke, who hosts Al Jazeera English's social media show The Stream.
'Because people can easily make stuff up, you should check [facts learned from social media with] at least 20 people,' she said. 'You don't change what you're being taught in journalism school just because you use Twitter.'
Gwen Lister, chairperson of the Namibian Media Trust, gave an example of how watchdog journalism was essential for uncovering corruption cases.
'The media is effective in revealing government mistakes and corruption,' she said. 'It cannot happen in undemocratic countries like Swaziland where the media is seen as the enemy.'
Results from the forum are being put into a road map for media and development, which includes recommendations on both media development and media as a means of generating development.
