Nowthatitisenteringits21styear,Asia-EuropeMeeting(ASEM)maybesaidtohavecomeofage.Therefore,itwasonlyappropriatethatonthethresholdofattainingmajority,ASEMshouldhavebrokennewgroundbyholdingtheMediaDialogueonConnectivity.ThiswasinGuangzhoufromMay9-10,2016.
Itwasnotanevent,butalandmarkshifttogivenewthrust,asthethemeunderscored,toPromotingPublicAwarenessandPartnership.Itranksasashiftbecauseitcomesaftertwodecadesof:themultipleprocessesgeneratedbyASEM;theemergenceofconnectivityasthefocusareaforAsia-Europecooperation;theimpliedrecognitionthatforconnectivitytobecompleteinconceptandcontentrequiresmediaasapartnerifnotasapillar;and,flowingfromthatrecognition,theconvictionandresolvetotakethefirststepofaMediaDialoguebycreatingaplatform.
Theplatformhasnotcomedoneadaytoosoon,althoughitwasmosttimely.Ittookplaceontheeveofthe11thASEMSummittobeheldinUlaanBaatarinJuly2016.
ASEM,asaninformalprocessofdialogueandcooperation,takesplaceat:summit-levelmeetingsattendedbyheadsofstateorgovernment;ministerial-levelmeetings;and,seniorofficials-levelmeetings.Thesemeetingsareonforeignaffairs,finance,trade,theeconomy,environment,andscienceandtechnology.Discussionsarecentredroundthreepillars:thepolitical;theeconomicandfinancial;and,thesocio-cultural,educationalandintellectual,whichhassubsumedthemediasofar.TheobjectiveisstrengtheningtherelationshipbetweenAsiaandEuropeinaspiritofmutualrespectandequalpartnership.
EstablishedonMarch1,1996,ASEM鈥檚firstsummitinBangkokwasattendedby25AsianandEuropeancountries,theEUCommission,ASEAN,China,JapanandSouthKorea.Subsequentexpansionsawthenumberofmembersriseto53atthe10thsummitinMilaninOctober2014.India,PakistanandMongoliajoinedASEMatthe6thsummitinHelsinkiinSeptember2006.
ThelasttwoyearssawinitiativestowardsthepromotionofAsia-EuropeconnectivityliketheThinkTankSymposium,theIndustryDialogueonConnectivity,SymposiumonEurasiaTransportandLogisticsNetwork,andSeminaronASEMat20-TheChallengesofConnectivity.
Inthelasttwodecadesandparticularlyinthelasttwoyearswhichsawsomanyinitiatives,thereappearstobeagrowingrealizationthatwhileconnectivityishighontheagenda,itisnotonlyaboutphysicalstructuresandlinkages.Connectivityisalsoaboutconnectingtopeopleandmedia;and,thisisanaspecttowhichASEMhasnotpaidadequateattention.
TheimpactofASEMishardlyvisibleinthemediaonanongoingbasis.ASEMisunabletogeneratetherequiredmediaattention,exceptatthetimeofevents.AtASEMeventsandinitiatives,invariablytheroleandimportanceofmediafindsmention;asdoesthefactthatASEMneedsmoremediavisibility.Mediaandpeopleto-peopleconnectivityarepre-requisitesforASEMtocreategreaterpublicawareness,understanding,interestandsupport.
Thisrecognitionofmediaasthemissinglink鈥揳ndtheurgencytoengageandinvolvethemediaincludingnewmediaandsocialmedia鈥搈ayhaveledtotheholdingoftheMediaDialogueinthecontextofconnectivity;and,towardspromotingpublicawarenessandpartnership.
TheMediaDialogueonConnectivityfromMay9-10inGuangzhouwasaplatformformediarepresentativesfromASEMcountriestotakestockofthestorysofarandsharethoughts,ideasandinsightsonincreasingASEM鈥檚reach,impactandinfluenceasitentersitsthirddecade.
Thefirstplenarysessionon鈥淎SEMConnectivityTodayandTomorrow鈥漴eviewedthemeasurestakenthusfaranddweltontheprospectsahead.China鈥檚BeltandRoadInitiative鈥搘hichisatthecoreofAsia-Europeconnectivity,cooperationandinfrastructure鈥搘asarecurringthemeasalead-intothesessionsonthemedia.
Thereweresessionson:TheRelevanceandRoleofMediaasaMajorStakeholder;HarnessingthePowerofNewMedia;DialoguebetweenMediaandBusiness;andasessiononVisibilityandSustainability,whichdealtwith-鈥淗owASEMcanimproveitsvisibility?鈥漚nd鈥淗owmediacanhelpsustainASEM?鈥漈hetopicsunderscoreASEM鈥檚concernsandissuesandhere,too,theBeltandRoadInitiativeresonatedasabindingtheme.
Participants鈥搈ainlymediapersonsbutalsoofficials,diplomatsandbusinessmen鈥揵roughttothetabletheirexperiences,ideas,proposals,suggestionsandreflectionsfordevelopingamediafocusand,atthesametime,renewingASEMinabigway.
ThedialogueshowedthatASEMisfacingmanychallenges.Itisfarfromthevibrantforceitshouldbeforachievingitsambitiousobjectives.Firstandforemost,ASEMneedstoreviveitsownvitality.Onlythenwoulditcommandtheappealtocapturemediaattentionandvisibility.
ASEMandconnectivityshouldbecomeandbeperceivedasaprocess鈥揳ndnotamatterofperiodicevents鈥揷entraltothedevelopmentoftwocontinentsandtheirpeople.
Untilthathappens,theimperativeofbringinginthemediaasastakeholder,partnerandpotentialpillarwouldremainanuphilltask.