Radio Romania hosts in Bucharest the Media 2020 Conference

Radio Romania hosts in Bucharest the Media 2020 Conference, organized jointly with the largest broadcaster union in Asia, ABU. Participating are some of the most important actors in the media, experts, presidents of public media institutions, digital platform creators, and media personalities from EBU and the Asia-Pacific area.

Here are a few elements of the event as reflected in the interviews made by Simina Botar and Alin Serbanescu tonight with two of the organizers.

Reporter: One can see how, while we commonly plan for the 2030-2050 timeframe, in the media we talk about 2020. The pace at which the media landscape changes, especially in broadcasting, is so fast that it is difficult to have a clearer perspective on longer term than that.

In Bucharest we will be talking about how we can communicate more easily tomorrow, what possibilities and services, both useful and interesting, we will be able to offer. Let us find out who the organizers of the Media 2020 Conference are from ABU general secretary, Dr. Javad Mottaghi.

“The world is like a global village, so you cannot only focus on local matters, you have to act locally, but you have to think globally, and that’s what brought us here, to Romania. Media 2020 is a platform that brought broadcasters from Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and some other continents together to act ocally and think globally.

"The ABU is the biggest broadcasting union in the world. We have 276 members in 68 countries, we can reach 4.2 billion audiences in the world. We believe in diversity, we feel diversity, diversity in population and culture, in size, in religion, in economy, in politics, in all aspects of life, but we do not see diversity as a threat, we see that as an opportunity.

"Radio Romania has played a very important role in bridging the two ideas, the East and the West together, and with the kind of culture that I feel here, with the kind of hospitality and social culture that I see in Romania, and I am familiar with Romanian culture, I think it’s a very good platform, it’s a very good opportunity to bridge the difference between West and East, and this is what Radio Romania has done.

"Let me give you an example: some two years ago, when Radio Romania joined the ABU, broadcasters in Asia hardly knew what Radio Romania is doing, and what kind of activities you are offering to the public. But in a short period of two years, because of your active involvement, with several activities in Asia, Radio Romania is now known to broadcasters in the region, and Radio Romania has now turned into a window, a window for Romania to be seen in other countries.

"Last year, your symphony orchestra performed two pieces, two days, two performances in Malaysia for over 20-30 million people in Malaysia, and, of course, for the World Summit in Media for Children. What could be better as an opportunity for Romania to be seen across the globe?

"And I think we have to commend what Mr. Miculescu has done, what you have done, what Romania has done, to not only be a window for Romania to be seen outside, and also for the outside to share its experiences with the Romania public through Radio Romania", Mr. Mottaghi told us.

Ovidiu Miculescu, Radio Romania President and Director General, told us about the usefulness of the dialog over the next two days in Bucharest for Radio Romania listeners, and about the role that Radio Romania has in relation to ABU, especially as host of the conference.

‘First of all, ABU is the largest and strongest media organization in the world. Our presence there represents more than Radio Romania, it represents Romania, which is a very important thing. The exposure that Romania has in this extremely strong and serious organization brings the name Romania to the attention of a few thousand broadcasters who multiply the messages we convey.

"For example, last year we had the National Radio Orchestra tour in Kuala Lumpur, when one of Romania’s outstanding cultural achievements was conveyed to over a billion people on TV or through on-line platforms. Secondly, Asia brings to us an extraordinary expertise in terms of technological and content adaptation in today’s media, because it is extremely technologically developed.

"At the same time, Asia means a world where money from all over the globe gathers, because I believe that right now finances are concentrated in that part of the world, and we can all see that even large European and American corporations invest there.

"Therefore I believe that right now and over the following years, Asia will be an extremely important terrain for Romanian presence, and Radio Romania stepped in with head held high. We are an extremely serious partner, a high performance partner, an active member, and even if we have been in ABU for only a couple of years, we are a highly respected member", Ovidiu Miculescu told us.