Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): The 18th meeting of the General Assembly of the Organization of Asia and Pacific News Agencies (OANA) was held in Tehran today, Monday (October 24) with the presence of Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad Mahdi EImaili, and officials and representatives of the member countries.
In this meeting, 60 officials and representatives of international media members of Avana from 35 countries participated, and from Afghanistan, Abdul Wahid Rayan; The head of Bakhtar Agency is present in this meeting.
The meeting started with the speeches of Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Ismaili, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran, and continued with the speeches of Ali Naderi, CEO of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and Hyun Joon Kim, Executive Director of Yonhap News Agency.
The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance considered the Islamic Republic of Iran to be a supporter of popular, right-wing and free-thinking media and emphasized: We hope that the Tehran Summit will be the beginning of a new era of the activities of this forum and its more active role in today's and future media developments in the world.
Ismaili expressed his satisfaction at the presence of OANA member news agencies in this meeting, stating that the world is created, narrated and represented in the public mind by the media, and added: In the past, the media was referred to as a tool of power, but today the media is no longer a tool of power. It is the same as power.
The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance said: Media is a power that, like other forms of power, can be in the service of justice and prosperity for mankind, as well as in the service of oppression and injustice.
The Minister of Culture of Iran stated: When the media is connected with the poles of global power and wealth, it can no longer be expected to represent the truth, truthfulness and justice, and it can no longer be considered a means for human freedom and happiness.
Ismaili added: The media is a liberating power when it is freed from the monopoly of the powerful and the rich.
He stated that the media will serve the freedom of the nation’s when it is not a tool to advance the policies of the world dominating powers, adding: The media will be reliable and acceptable for us, the independent nations of the world, when it is not a partner of global deceivers and liars.
In another part of his speech, the Minister of Culture and Guidance of Iran stated that today many independent countries in the world are victims of the invasion of media terrorism by the dominating powers and stated: This media terrorism not only targets the identity, culture and independence of the countries, but also openly It seeks to promote violence, division and insecurity among independent nations.
Esmaili said: The media that openly promote violence, hatred and enmity and fan the flames of religious and sectarian differences have no right to present themselves as heralds of media freedom and justice.
He also pointed out that the media, which are clearly placed in the position of the foot soldiers of the domineering powers, have no right to claim rights and philanthropy.
In his speech, Hyun Jin Kim, Deputy Managing Director of Yonhap News Agency of South Korea, considered holding this meeting as a good opportunity to exchange cooperation between the media and added: The 18th meeting of OANA General Assembly is an important event for this organization and we can The meeting will discuss important problems, and the members of this organization can present their new proposals and plans, and each member has the opportunity to present his experiences.
By proposing to hold the next meetings of this forum in Seoul, the center of South Korea, he said that we can discuss where the meetings will be held every three years.
Deputy CEO of South Korea's Yonhap news agency, stating that we must be able to identify problems and opportunities, said: We must examine opportunities and problems and discuss their solutions.
He added: We can still hold meetings in news agencies about the issues we have in the media and put them on our agenda, because we have good experts in this field and we can benefit from them.
The Asia and Pacific News Agency (OANA) was established in 1340 with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to facilitate information among the countries of this region.
The development and strengthening of media cooperation between member countries is the most important axis and agenda of OANA General Assembly meeting in Tehran.
Currently, 43 news agencies from 35 countries in Asia and the Pacific are members of this organization.