Kathmandu, Nov. 24
Minister for Communication and Information Technology,
Prithvi Subba Gurung, has stressed strengthening regional friendship in South
Asia through media professionals and journalists.
Speaking at the first Saarc Journalist Award 2024 organised
by SAARC Journalist Association in Kathmandu on Sunday, he said that the
collaboration among stakeholders, journalism professionals and industries of
the SAARC countries will strengthen the foundation of friendship among the
people in the region.
Minister Gurung expressed his hopes that the Association
will fulfill its objectives to promote journalists, reporters based in SAARC
countries and support in enhancing the professional expertise and skills.
"The Association must focus on additional roles to
establish awards, encourage research and development in various fields of
profession, co-operate, collaborate and maintain constructive relation with the
stakeholders in the society," he said.
He also urged the media professionals, including journalists,
to contribute to foster a feeling of fellowship and promote goodwill among
journalists through various conferences, seminars and workshops.
Dr. Natraj Ray, President of the Association, informed that
the organisation will soon be registered at SAARC Secretariat and in the member
countries. "We aim to create a broader regional network of journalists in
SAARC. It will be developed as a platform to share ideas and learning, and put
joint collaborations in skill enhancement," he said and added that within
a year, the Association will be expanded to all eight countries.
The Association aims to create a vision for media so that it
could contribute to the achievement of the regional development goals. It also
aims to contribute to journalism education in the South Asian region.
Chairman of the Press Council of Nepal, Balkrishna Basnet,
said that there is a need to create a common platform to find solutions to the
common challenges of media in the region.
"This region has a gap of media coordinating body.
Meanwhile, we are also facing growing challenges in managing and regulating
social media," he said.
On the occasion, Saarc Journalist Association's Nepal
Chapter was formed under the leadership of Samjhana Sharma of HRM magazine.
Kuvera Chalise of Nepalkhabar is appointed the General Secretary of the
organisation and TRN journalist Modnath Dhakal is named as the Secretary.
Likewise, Sharmila Thakuri of Arthatoday is appointed as Treasurer
while Pushpa Raj Acharya of HRM, Anurag Singh Verma of Business 360 and Dambar
Prasad Acharya of Ktmvoice are on board as the members of the committee.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 25 November 2024.
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