Date: 20-21 April 2013
Country: China
The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) established the Hong Kong Inclusive Journalism Network (HKIJN) to encourage academics from Hong Kong, China mainland and the West to share the ideas, goals and materials concerning the inclusive journalism and diversity in media.
The HKIJN was set up at the conference in Hong Kong held on 20-21 April 2013 and organised by the MDI and the Institute for Journalism and Society, of the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU).
By initiating and organizing the conference in Hong Kong, the MDI has proven its leading role in promoting the inclusive and diverse media around the world, now including China.
The participants at the conference were professors, lecturers and academics from several Chinese leading universities such as Yunnan University, City University Hong Kong, Shenzhen University, Tsinghua University, Hong University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Sun Yat Sen University. They were joined by the colleagues from several Western universities such as University of Westminster, Auckland University and University of the West of England.
The group of academics gathered as the as the Hong Kong Inclusive Journalism Network, will continue to discuss the ways of improving the representation of political, social and cultural diversity in the media in China and the West, as well as promoting diversity and inclusiveness as the pillars of participatory democracy in the era of, what UNESCO calls, the New World Information and Communication Order.
At the Hong Kong conference, the strong need for media literacy courses and training for journalism students and journalists in inclusive journalism was expressed. It was stated that ethnic and religious minorities are among the most sensitive issues in China, though the country’s authorities are gradually opening media space for minority issues.
There are 130 million people in China belonging to some of the ethnic minorities which is more than 9% of the population. Compering media examples given by the academics from Chinese universities, Professor Mike Jempson from University of the West of England said that 7% of the working population in the UK have ethnic minorities’ background, but only 4% of the British media content is about them.
The Hong Kong Inclusive Journalism Network, therefore, has set up its agenda and has already started planning for the next gathering and the projects.
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