Kathmandu: The first international mother language journalism conference has concluded by endorsing an eight-point declaration for shared solidarity and collaboration among South Asian journalists.
The two-day conference, first held in Lalitpur on June 1 and second in Bhaktapur on June 2 adopted the declaration.
The declaration was signed by central chairperson of Newa Journalist National Dabu Nripendra Lal Shrestha, central chairperson of Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Journalists Gajurdhan Rai, central chairperson of SAARC Journalists Forum Raju Lama, general-secretary of SAARC Journalists Forum MD Abdul Raheman, Forum’s Indian Chapter Chairperson Sudhamshu Aniruddha and Bhutan Journalist Association’s Kinle Dim.
In 1982 BS (Nepal Sambat 1045), Dharmaditya Dharmacharya (Jagatman Vaidya), a resident of Patan, published a magazine continuously for five years from Calcutta, India. The magazine was closed after being published for 19 issues.
The conference has been organized as part of the Centenary Year
of Mother Language Journalism in the context of 100 years of the history of Journalism of Nepal Bhasa. Newa: Rastriya Dabu organized the conference in collaboration with SAARC Journalists Forum and Federation of Indigenous Nationalities Journalists of Nepal (FONIJ).
On the first day of the conference, a panel discussion was held among the journalists of South Asia on the way forward for the trend of mother language journalism in Nepal, the status of mother tongue journalism in the world and what the government should do for the development of mother tongue journalism on the second day.
Senior journalists Pushkar Bhakta Mathema, Surajbir Bajracharya, Sahyog Ranjit and Srijana Newa presented working papers on Nepal bhasa journalism, Dharmaditya Dharmacharya and mother tongue journalism.
Similarly, a working paper on community radio in India, India mother tongue journalism was presented. Nripendra Lal Shrestha, president of Rastriya Dabu, said that the declaration has been prepared by incorporating the discus
sions held on the issues raised in the inaugural session and the concluding session.
According to the declaration, mother tongue journalism day, which is celebrated every year on the day before Buddha Jayanti, will be further widened. According to the declaration, the medium of mother tongue journalism will be made an effective and powerful medium to protect the knowledge, skills and technology that have been collected by the speakers of different languages for generations.
Expressing solidarity with the right to freedom of expression and to inform the diverse languages, majority castes and communities through their respective mother tongues, the declaration states that the journalism of mother tongue will be promoted through the medium of harmony among the South Asian countries and the people.
Source: National News Agency RSS