Reporting situations of violence and other emergencies

By Ben Cal

More than 50 senior editors and media executives from the Asia-Pacific region will gather here on Friday for a daylong discussion on reporting situations of violence and other emergencies sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

This will be the first time such conference will be held in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss reporting on situations of violence and other emergencies.

This conference entitled "Reporting on Violence and Emergencies" will be held on at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City.

One of Asia's best-known journalists, Veronica Pedrosa, a Filipina, of Al Jazeera English, will deliver the keynote address on "The role of social media in contemporary conflicts."

Media representatives will come from Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand.

The purpose of the high-level discussions is to share best practices and provide recommendations on three themes: reporting on violence and emergencies; role of media in protecting vulnerable people; and the safety of journalists.

ICRC said a joint declaration from the participants may be expected at the conclusion of the conference with the aim of addressing opportunities and challenges for the media in their coverage of violence, emergencies and humanitarian issues.

"The media in East Asian, South-East Asian and Pacific countries represent a major and continuously growing source of influence worldwide, and we want to hear their views," said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC's head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific.