News exchange to secure independence of OANA members: Bulgaria

Tehran, IRNA – Bilateral and multilateral cooperation among members of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) can help turn them into main source of reports in the world and guarantee the members’ independence in terms of media activities. Vasil Gelev, advisor to the managing director of the Bulgarian State News Agency, told IRNA on the sidelines of the 18th General Assembly of the OANA on Tuesday that the event in Tehran is a good opportunity for the members of the organization to expand their collaborations. Bulgaria tries to sign contracts with different media outlets in order to enhance media cooperation, he said, noting that news agencies of the OANA member states have agreed to send one news in each day; so, we can update reports on the OANA members. Pointing to the 18th general assembly, the Bulgarian representative said that the coordination among the OANA members can enhance the information dissemination , because one country cannot be able to disseminate all news and documents; so, reports by different countries can complete the puzzle. In an era that fake stories are free and available everywhere, the state-run news agencies should provide people with free of charge reports to fight the spreading of fake news, he underlined. If we want to promote the new generation to stop watching unknown sources on social media platforms, we should improve our presence in these networks, he noted, adding that we should become familiar with the media habits of the youths in order to create better interaction with them. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) hosts the 18th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), which kicked off in the capital of Tehran on October 24. In the two-day assembly, around 60 senior directors, managers, and editors from 35 OANA member states discuss various topics, including the development and strengthening of media cooperation. The general assembly is being held at the highest level of every news agency to discuss infrastructural issues; the upgrade of activities of members; macro-politics; review, reform, and ratification of agreements of the executive board and the technical and news groups; offering suggestions to the executive board and pursuing executive issues; as well as decision-making on new members. The OANA was established on December 22, 1961, in a bid to facilitate information dissemination among regional countries with the support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). IRNA along with Fars and Mehr news agencies are the three media agencies in Iran representing the Islamic country in the OANA. IRNA is one of the first members of the organization, and presided over it between 1997 to 2000; then, the Iranian news agency acted as the vice chairman of the regional organization in 2016, and now IRNA is a member of the executive committee of OANA. At the end of the 18th General Assembly of the OANA in Tehran, a communique will be issued by the members on Tuesday. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish