11th International Media Education Summit 2018 (MES-2018) concludes at Baptist University, Hong Kong
Mubashar Naqvi
Our Special Correspondent based in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Mubashar Naqvi is on two months fellowship at Baptist University, Hong Kong. He especially sent this report on the conclusion of 11th International Media Education Summit 2018 (MES-2018), held at the University.
HONG KONG: The 11th International Media Education Summit 2018 (MES-2018) concluded here at Baptist University on Friday. The event was enthusiastically participated by the media educators, scholars and researchers throughout the world.
The Summit was a vital part of CEMP’s work and served as an annual convergence of research work, networking and it demonstrated the mission to foster collaborative work in the related fields of media education and literacy.
The participants thoroughly shared research, pedagogy and innovation on all aspects of media education, media literacy and media in education.
The big event also offered a supportive, collegiate and dynamic environment for over 100 media education initiatives shared by researchers from all over the world.
Professor Alice Y.L. Lee, Head of the Department of Journalism, HKBU while talking to this scribe said that it is a matter of great pride for her institution to host more than one hundred and sixty participants around the world for this event.
Alice Y.L. said that she is very excited to have a big event to mark the 50th Anniversary of the School of Communication HKBU.
Julian McDougall, Professor and Head of the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice, Bournemouth University UK, a collaborating host institution expressed the hope that hearing about each other’s methods and findings in this crucial area will lead to further collaborations, projects, publications and events to take all of our work forward.
Earlier, the workshop begun with the opening remarks of C.K. Lau Associate Dean of School of Communication HKBU and Professor Julian McDougall, the Director of Centre for Excellence in Media Practice, Bournemouth University UK.
Marielza Oliveira Director of UNESCO Beijing in her keynote speech highlighted the UNESCO’s global actions on media and information technology.
She said UNESCO supports the development of Media Information Literacy (MIL) competencies among people through the development and promotion of curricula, policy guidelines, assessment framework as well as capacity building.
The DARE Collaborate (Andrew Burn, John Potter and Michelle Cannon, The Knowledge Lab, University College London) spoke on “Dynamic, productive and Playful Literacies.
Their presentation reflected on recent projects in a variety of media forms, in both formal and informal educational settings, discussed ways of expanding notions of literacy practices which reflected their place in the wider lived experience of digital culture.
Sarah Jones, Head of the Birmingham School of Media at Birmingham City University underlined the infiltration of immersive technologies on various aspects of human lives.
Assistant Professor Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at Charles University (Czech Rep) and an Affiliated Faculty of Media Education Lab (USA) Marketa Zezulkova talked on Youth Media Education Summit.
Professor Donna Chu (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) on “Turning the Clock Back” Historical perspectives in Media literacy education, Fergal Keane (BBC), Lain Williamson (South Island School) and Hyeon-Seon Jeong (Gyeongin National University of Education) were also among the keynote speakers.
There were Panel A, B, C, D, E and F were convened where educationalists, intellectuals and professionals from industry shared their research findings, concerns and point of view on media education.
Students, academic staff, journalists and other participants lauded the efforts of both the host institutions saying that the conduct of the summit would help young people to understand the complex media dynamics.
It is pertinent to mention here that MES-2018 is one of the key events to mark the 50th Anniversary of the School of Communication of Baptist University, a liberal arts educational institution in Asia delivering academic excellence in a caring creative and global culture.
The School of Communication has reached special milestone – 50 years of commitment to communication education and research that has nurtured more than 10,000 graduates. Its journalism program was founded in 1968, and many of the city’s top media professionals are its alumni.
It is worth mentioning that HKBU’s Department of Journalism is now one of the best journalism schools in Hong Kong which working hard to meet digital challenge by introducing new courses in data journalism, network analysis and artificial intelligence.
This scribe was told that over the years, the department has also devoted to promoting media literacy in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Launching a university wide media literacy general education course, conducting media literacy research as well as holding media education international conferences, seminars and talks are the key functions of the department.