By : Annam Lodhi
The FPAC
(Foundation for Promotion of Academic collaboration) organized its first IJC
(International Journalism Conference), from 21st to 23rd
of Feb. 2013 - co-organized by the government of Punjab - was held in Pearl
Continental.
The focus of the
conference was to talk about the changes Pakistani media had made in contrast
to international, its pros & cons & future in today’s world. From all
over Punjab, students of Mass Communication - as well as students, teachers, &
people of other professions – were in attendance.
The conference
was headed by Amir Rafique & inaugurated by CM Punjab - Shahbaz Sharif. In
his speech, the CM brought awareness to the predicaments Pakistan, & how
the media can assist in showing the world the true & pure magic of our
country. He also shed light on how it is the youth of Pakistan that has the
power to bring about a change, & thus holding a conference to show how this
can be done in a positive manner.
The seminar started with Ingrid
Mueller’s (a German journalist) presentation on the basics of media, followed
by Ameer Hamza’s (a Pakistani working for international media) speech on the
globalization of media. Mr. Hamza underlined one of the main issues of today’s
media, stating: “Majority of it is owned by selected co-operations, which has
reduced diversity & hence opinion making is easy”. Mr. Irtaza (anchor of
Awam ki Baat, Dawn News) talked on what television was made for & what it
has become, saying “Truth is the name of journalism”.
Next was
Dr.Zsuzanna’s (a PHD in nutrition & change maker) energetic session on how
to bring about positive change with just a few steps. She asked people to hug
anyone (of the same gender) stand 5 steps from them. This opened up people to each other, breaking
the ice between them & allowing them to mix with each other better in the
later sessions. She said that the drawback of today’s youth is the fear to open
up & this fear leads to many problems.
Prof. Dr. Ahsan
Akhtar Naz, Jawad Hassan & Raza Naeem talked on media ethics &
accountability. Prof. Dr. Muhghees-ud-din-shekih (Dean of PU media studies dept.),
Amna Ashraf, Dr. Anjum Zia spoke on Media Education. The audience was at all
times given a healthy chance to ask questions, clarify their doubts & to
put points forward, criticise & receive convincing answers by the panel.
The main purpose
of day one was to educate the youth about the media & it’s working. The day
ended with the recording of the show “Awam ki Baat” by Irtaza for Dawn News - topic
of the show being journalism.
The next day was
yet another information filled session; the tent was full of thriving students.
The day began with the topic “Business Journalism”. Suhayll Riaz Raja (Dean of
Superior University: Media Dept.) talked about the advertising business, Prof;
Rizwan Razi (teacher at Superior University: Media Dept.) gave a brief on how business
channels are supposed to be & the PEMRA requirements.
To end the
session phenomenally, a remarkable presentation by Mr. Talhat Hussain on “Media
Globalization, Pakistan’s Context”. In a very enlightening speech, he said: “Pakistan
didn’t need global media to be integrated into the world map”. He further
elaborated his points, saying that the new media was a luxury for the elite.
His persona had a great effect on the students who looked up to him as an
inspiration.
The day
commenced with the topic of “Social Media Factor”, presented by Dr. Anjum Zia,
supported by Ali Ashraf who presented the interactive model between normal
& social media, showcasing how social media allowed audience to give
feedback & interact with its provider which the former didn’t. Farhan
Masood (founder of Pakistan Go Green) elaborated on the importance of how
social media can be the cause of changes. Waseem Badami (ARY Anchor) talked on
the practical sense of journalism.
The last entry
on the day’s agenda was a round table talk between the students & all the panellist
present from both days, including many more journalists & media persons. The
session was held to voice out the concerns of the current Pakistani media, in
turn listing out ways to solve them & how the youth will be the stepping
stone to its improvements.
In hopes to
implement the learned knowledge in future days to come, the conference closed
with a dinner from the CM to all the participants.
