Young Journalists and Religious Leader meet in Spain

Young journalists and religious leaders meet in Spain to bridge the
Media-religion divide


Ahead of the 6th ASEM Interfaith Dialogue taking place in Madrid, Spain, on 7-9
April 2010, a group of young journalists and religious leaders from Asia and
Europe will meet to discuss the role of the media in reporting on religion, an official to EU here said on April 1.

Pon Poun, spokeswoman for the EU here said that according to the report, it will be organized by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and Casa Asia, with support of Paramadina University; the 8th ASEF Journalists’ Colloquium aims to increase awareness of the religious leaders and journalists of the need to improve coverage of religious and interfaith affairs. “Cambodian representative also attend this meeting,”she added.

“A key to the successful collaboration in promoting inter-communal dialogue is to learn from each other, share new perspectives and fresh insights,” said ASEF Executive Director Ambassador Dominique Girard quoted as saying in the statement from EU.

“Therefore it is essential to sensitize young professionals and engage them in inter-communal dialogue at the early stage of their careers,” it said, adding that Colloquium participants include representatives from Ireland, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, France, Spain, Slovakia, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany and Singapore.

“They will explore ways of increasing media literacy for religious leaders and religious knowledge for media, as education and professional training can pave the way toward trust and cooperation between media and religious communities. Their recommendations will contribute to the discussions at the 6th ASEM Interfaith Dialogue,” it said.

It continued that the ASEM Interfaith Dialogue is an annual gathering of religious, cultural and political leaders from Asia and Europe. Established in 2005, it aims to foster mutual understanding and respect among the diverse faiths and religions across the two regions. It noted that the meeting of 8th ASEF Journalists’ Colloquium Youth, Media and Interfaith will be sharing Knowledge, Building Trust in Madrid, Spain, 5-6 April 2010 in conjunction with the 6th ASEM Interfaith Dialogue.


The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) promotes greater mutual understanding between Asia and Europe through intellectual, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Through ASEF, civil society concerns are included as a vital component of deliberations of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). ASEF was established in February 1997 by the participating governments of ASEM. Since then, ASEF has implemented over 350 projects, engaging over 15,000 direct participants as well as reaching out to a much wider audience in Asia and Europe.
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) now brings together 43 member states (Austria, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, Vietnam) plus the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat. Additionally, Casa Asia is a Spanish public consortium, formed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation, the Catalonian Autonomous Government, the Barcelona City Council and the Madrid City Council, that aims at promoting mutual understanding between the societies of Spain and of the Asia-Pacific region and at developing the relations between
Spain, Europe and Asia and the Pacific in the institutional, cultural, educational and economic fields. It develops cross-cultural dialogue and understanding through a wide range of activities such as Art Festivals, dialogues, lectures, courses, conferences, meetings and seminars. This institution was created in Barcelona on 9 November 2001 and it reflects the objectives of the Spanish Government Action Plan for the Asia-Pacific region. Casa Asia has its headquarters in the Palau Baró de Quadras, a modernist building designed by the architect Puig i Cadafalch in Barcelona and since 2006, and it has a Centre in Madrid in the Miraflores Palace. ASEF’s contribution is with the financial support of the European Commission.
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