Ambassador of India to Việt Nam Pranay Verma speaks at the workshop. Photo courtesy of the Centre for Indian Studies

HÀ NỘI — Experts from Việt Nam and India shared experience and initiatives in journalism and communication products amid COVID-19 at a workshop held in Hà Nội on Thursday.

Deputy director of the Hồ Chí Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) Dương Trung Ý said the event helped to create open and multidimensional perspectives on issues relating to media between Việt Nam and India and served as a venue to share experiences and initiatives when participating in implementing communication products in the current period.

He appreciated the role of the media in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Journalists promptly reflect the developments of the pandemic, helping people to understand clearly about it and its tremendous devastation,” he told the workshop held by the HCMA's Centre for Indian Studies.

The Vietnamese press has contributed to spreading the good values ​​of Vietnamese traditions, which include the spirit of mutual love, solidarity and sharing, not with local people but also with international friends through the treatment of foreign patients and shipments of medical equipment such as masks, gloves and medical protective gear to other countries, he said.

Ambassador of India to Việt Nam Pranay Verma evaluated the seminar as an activity to help scholars, journalists and managers of the two countries share and exchange lessons and experiences in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, thus promoting deep cooperation between the two countries.

Participants said the press of Việt Nam and India have different characteristics but they share some similarities amid the COVID-19, such as ensuring provision of information about the pandemic to help fight against it while at the same time suffering negative impacts from the disease which has killed more than 1.1 million people around the world.

Cutting staff and reductions in sales and revenue are challenges facing newsrooms and reporters in both Việt Nam and India, not mention the boom of fake news via social media.

Times of India reporter Rudroneel Ghosh said Indian media has never experienced a crisis like this and had to learn about the disease day-by-day.  

Việt Nam did a good job of managing both COVID-19 and the economy while India has been somewhat overwhelmed by COVID-19 numbers, he said, adding that Việt Nam has used an all-of-government approach but India was slow to muster requisite resources.

Professor Tạ Ngọc Tấn, deputy chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, said in fact reporters are always “soldiers on the frontline” in the fight against COVID-19.

He suggested the media need to increase the coverage of positive information while proactively criticising fake news to ensure accurate and transparent information reaches people. — VNS