Media summit adopts Dhaka Declaration

The 3rd ABU Media Summit on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction has ended with the adoption of a Dhaka Declaration.

The two-day summit, hosted by Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar, attracted more than 270 participants.

The next summit will take place in Fiji in 2018, hosted by Fiji Broadcasting Corporation.

In the Dhaka Declaration, participants agreed to:

• call upon broadcasters throughout the Asia-Pacific region to take note of the outcome of this Summit and others held to date; 
• support international moves to further disseminate vital data on the subjects of climate change and disaster risk reduction to the widest possible radio, television and online audiences throughout the world;
• commit ourselves to taking positive and proactive measures in our own organisations in producing creative, quality radio and television programmes to address the ever-evolving issues, thereby seeking to encourage the mitigation of potentially catastrophic implications for societies and lifestyles;
• take cognizance of the human costs of inaction, especially as these relate to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, community involvement in disaster management and the need to address poverty alleviation;
• adopt a whole of society approach that ensures that governments, civil society, research institutions, international agencies and other parties develop partnerships with broadcasting organisations to ensure that professional, accurate and cogent messages are available for public information, education, action and the broader global conversation.

Reporting by Alan Williams