Representatives of the member media outlets join the ANN’s 25th anniversary cake-cutting ceremony. ANN/VNS Photos

PETALING JAYA The Asia News Network (ANN) holds its annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from September 4-7, 2024, a landmark year for the alliance as it celebrates its silver jubilee.

Held in Malaysia for the first time, the meeting this year coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Asia News Network, with the theme centred around the ‘Future of Asia’, cognisant of the challenging media landscape, coupled with the increasing need to strengthen journalistic professionalism and foster deeper regional collaborations.

The four-day regional Summit aims to promote journalistic professionalism and foster deeper collaborations among its 20 media delegates across Asia.

Established in 1999 with the founding principle of ‘Bringing Asia Closer’, ANN has grown into a leading alliance of 20 established media titles across Asia, including Việt Nam News as one of the founding members.

The Summit’s dialogue session on the third day was attended and addressed by Malaysian Communications Minister, Fahmi Fadzil, who congratulated ANN on its 25th anniversary, highlighting how it fostered close relationships between media organisations in the region.

The third day of the Summit featured a full day of panel discussion and inauguration of the Asia Dialogue sessions covering various topics that focus on the Summit’s theme as well as ANN’s 25th Anniversary Cake-Cutting Ceremony.

Việt Nam News editor-in-chief Nguyễn Minh discusses the media's role in preserving national heritage during a panel discussion.

Key discussions are centred around the current challenges and opportunities faced by journalists, highlighting areas on the future of journalism, rise of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI), impact of the upcoming elections in the US on Asia and the resiliency of the contributions from future generations to the region’s economic growth.

Mahfuz Anam, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of The Daily Star, Bangladesh and Chairman of ANN said, “Asia’s influence in global affairs has been on the rise in recent years as the region has emerged as a critical voice in world affairs. Home to more than half of the world’s population, Asia is fast becoming the epicentre of innovation and economic growth, as businesses are increasingly gravitating towards this region. This region is also fast becoming the hub for global connectivity and trade

“What began as the rise of a few tiger economies such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore has now expanded to include vibrant growth stories of other nations like Malaysia, India, Việt Nam, and Indonesia. Even China has captured global attention with its success.

“Asia’s time is now. We need to share our stories with the world so that humanity can reap the benefits of our progress. The Future of Asia Summit is one of our key initiatives to highlight the potential of this region and to bridge Asia to the rest of the world. This fulfils ANN’s mandate of bringing Asia to the global stage,” he said.

This year’s annual ANN meeting is co-hosted by the Star Media Group (SMG) and Sin Chew Daily, both are ANN members.

Datin Paduka Esther Ng, Chief Content Officer of SMG and Director as well as Member of the Board of ANN, said “Star Media Group has always believed in the power of collaboration. Since our inception with ANN, we have been committed to fostering the right platform in amplifying Asia’s media voices. Echoing our mission as one of the leading ‘people’s paper’ media groups in Malaysia, we remain committed to delivering accurate, unbiased and quality news to our readers. Our participation in ANN has been both beneficial and significant for us. It has allowed us to contribute to a stronger and a more connected media landscape across Asia.”

Kuik Cheng Kang, Editor-in-Chief of Sin Chew said, “As a member of ANN, Sin Chew Daily is proud to co-organise this year's Summit with Star Media Group. We believe this partnership will provide all participants a truly enriching and informative experience. Through this Summit, we aspire to amplify the voices of Asia, ensuring they are effectively communicated and shared by ANN members across the region.”

Starting as a group of nine media titles in 1999, ANN is now a leading regional alliance of news titles striving to bring Asia closer through the active sharing of editorial content on happenings in the region.

Apart from SMG and Sin Chew from Malaysia and Việt Nam News, other media outlets are from Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea. VNS/ANN