Asia-Pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development (AIBD) and TVRI hosted the 18th Asia Media Summit in Bali, Indonesia, on May 23 and 24.

The summit is an annual event for all media broadcasting agencies in Asia Pacific to share their thoughts on broadcasting and information.

This year, the forum was themed “Media Enhancing Economic Sustainability,” wherein Indonesia encourages the role of media, especially in the Asia Pacific, to contribute to a sustainable economy.

The event was inaugurated by Indonesia’s Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and more than 500 representatives including decision makers, media professionals, intellectuals, and news and program stakeholders from Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America attended the conference.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn delivered a special address on “Epicentrum of Growth” at the inaugural ceremony of the summit.

In his remarks, Dr Kao highlighted that ASEAN is increasingly being seen as the epicenter of global growth. He also underscored the immense potential of ASEAN and the valuable opportunities for media to expand its viewership by amplifying awareness and driving discussions on sustainable economic development among the people.

The participants also released a declaration paper titled ‘Bali Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)‘, in which leaders of the AIBD member countries pledged to undertake various steps to face challenges triggered by spreading of wrong, misleading and false information through the social media.