The 15th Asia Media Summit (AMS) was hosted in New Delhi over May 10-12 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The regional media industry event was held jointly with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd this year. The AMS 2018, an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) Kuala Lumpur, is a prestigious summit in the Asia Pacific Region and India hosted the event for the first time. The summit theme around “Telling Our Stories – Asia and More” offered platform for dialogue and cooperation within the region’s media industry. The event was attended by delegates from information and broadcasting ministry and industry of 41 nations, including China, the USA, Japan and Iran.
During the summit, a host of crucial topics were discussed, including convergence of media with emerging technologies, public private partnership as well as the need to generate improved revenue while not cutting back on free good content. Attendees also discussed ways to retain talented workforce on publicly-run media platforms. These issues are crucial to India which is experiencing a rapid expansion in connectivity, from electricity to internet. While India achieved 100 per cent electrification earlier this year, the nation expects to soon have have more than 900 million internet users. This opens up massive room for investment and income generation. The delegates also discussed issues pertaining to market competition, ethics and cyber crime, issues that have called for regulations related to digital security.
Amid exploding popularity of social media, delegates at the event campaigned for promotion of responsible usages of such platforms. The awareness comes amid the growing concern of “fake news” that has threatened democratic and defense mechanisms. Participation in the summit included over 300 delegates from the SAARC, ASEAN, East Asia, Africa, Oceania, Europe, Syria, Uzbekistan, the USA, and China. The concluding session of the event presented he World Television Awards 2018. The awards were given in three categories including humanity, science and environment. The annual event has gained considerable importance over the years given the market expansion in the region which has helped in attracting foreign investments. The next Asia Media Summit will be held in Philippines.