Singapore, Oct 3 (IANS) The 7th ASEF Editors' Roundtable: Asian and European Media in the Digital Age to be held Oct 15-17 in Milan, Italy will bring together more than 20 senior media commentators from 20 Asian and European countries to share their experiences in facing the rapidly changing media ecosystem.
With the evolution of technological, cultural and social landscapes, both Asia and Europe are facing a 'media climate change'. However, its nature and extent varies between and within the two regions. For example, paid newspaper circulation has fallen over 30 percent in Europe between 2006 and 2010 while it has increased at a rate of 16 percent during that same time in Asia.
The digital landscape has also opened new doors for Asians and Europeans to know more about each other. With that, local news is becoming global. The digital revolution melts physical borders and gave birth to an interconnected world of individuals. Audiences are now creating news and social media platforms are their distribution wings.
According to Eurostat, regular use of the internet in Europe will increase to 75 percent of its total population by 2015. Alongside, Asia is also experiencing an explosive digital growth. It is expected that over the next five years, nearly 700 million more Asians will start using the internet. At the same time, the tools of communication are also evolving. Studies reveal the average monthly mobile traffic consumption per mobile subscriber in Asia is 1,100 MB while in Europe it is 358.4 MB.
In this 'Digital Age', Asia and Europe have a great deal to learn from each other. The 7th ASEF Editors' Roundtable will bring together editors-in-chief/publishers/media experts from leading Asian and European media including AFP, China Daily, FFN Radio Germany, Irish Times, Kyodo News and Times of India, to name a few.
During the sessions of the Roundtable, participants will exchange their experiences in dealing with the digital wave. They will not only share their challenges and best practices but also explore possible synergies between the media across the two regions.
The 7th ASEF Editors' Roundtable will be co-organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the German Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) of the 10th ASEM Summit. The Roundtable will be conducted in cooperation with the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), supported by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and Chatham House.