PLEASE RETAIN UN ARCHIVES ORIGil~AL ORDER SERIES ....,v- 1 G 1-- -:-- ~ J C\'i BOX I f;).D ( 04 /~~ l \ FILE ACC. Pftt, [/?, 2-, /, ~ ASIAN EDITORS ROUNDTABLE

Sala Santitham, Bangkok 25 - JO November 1963

United Nations Office of Public Information .l\SIAN EDITORS ROUNDTABLE

Bangkok, 25 - 30 November 1963

Twenty prominent leaders of the information media from 19 countries which are members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) and are also members of the United Nations, took part in an Asian Editors I Roundtable at ECAFE Headquarters in Sala Santitham, Bangkok, November 25-30, 1963. The Asian Editors• Rourrltable, the second in a series organized by the United Nations Office of Public Infonnation (OPI), met under the chairmanship of Dr. Hernane Tavares de Sa, U.N. Under~ecretary for Public Information, who was accompanied by Gohl Obhrai, Director of the Press, Publications and Public Services Division of OPI~ U Nyun, Executive Secretary of ECAFE, attended the session as representative of the host organization. The session was opened by Lt.-General Amnuay Chairojana, on behalf of Thailand rs Prime Minister, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. The main topics of discussion were the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the application of science and technology for the benefit of the less-developed areas, and the Freedom­ from-Hunger Campaign. Special attention was given to information support for the programmes of ECAFE, including such major regional projects as the Mekong Development Scheme, the Asian Highway, and the Asian Institute for Economic Development and Planning, in the overall context of the U.N. Development Decade. Representatives of the U.N. Specialized Agencies and ECAFE Division Chiefs addressed the participants and took i:art in the discussions. The meetings were held in private. An account of the discussions is given in pages 5-52. LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

(Note: Biographical notes on the participants are given in the Annex)

I. UNITED NATIONS U Nyun Executive Secretary ECAFE Dr. Hernane Tavares de Sa U.N. Under-Secretary for Public Info:rmation

Gehl Obhra.i Director Press, Publications and Public Services Division OPI II. EDITORS Alexei I. Adzhubei Editor J:,¥estia M'oscow

Allan Bevens Head of Overseas Servic~ Central Office of Information London Jose Luna Castro ~Janaging Editor • Manila Times Manila

Chaiyong Chavalit ~Ianaging Director Thai Corranercial Publishing Co . Bangkok Stanway Cheng Director and Editor China News Taipei, Taiwan

Pran Chopra Editor The Statesman New Delhi Saville Davis Chief Editorial Writer Christian Science Monitor Boston - 2 -

II. EDITORS (Cont'd) V. Dumbleton Editor-in-Chief Auckland Star Auckland

Cecil Graham Editor Ceylon Daily News Colombo

S. Kushkaki Chief Editor Kabul Times, and President, Bakhtar News

Lee Siew Yee Stra.its Times Kuala Lumpur · Yoshinori Maeda. Vice-President Radio .NHI( Tokyo

Alfred Max Chief Editor Realites Paris Sir Charles Moses General Manager Australian Broadcasting Conmri.ssion Sydney H.H. Prince Prem Purachatra Chairman, Mass Comnunication, Thai .National Co!!mission for UNESCO Bangkok A.K. Quereshi Administrator Associated Press of Pakistan Karachi

Narayan Bahadure Singh Editor, Gorak~pat~a Kathmandu R. Soetojo Deputy Director-General of Broadcasting Djakarta. -3-

II. EDITORS (Cont 1d)

Thip Thammavong Director of Information Vientiane Kazim Zarnegar Editorial Writer Kayhan Teheran

III. UNITED NATICNS AND RELATED AGENCIES J.N. Corry Regional Representative of TAB and Director of Special Fund Programmes in the Far East, Bangkok C. Hart Schaaf Executive Agent Cormnittee for Co-ordination of Investigations on the Lower Mekong Basin Bangkok

John S. Fox Director ILO Ll.aison Office with ECAF.E Bangkok

J.M. Keon Regional Information Adviser for Asia Food and Agriculture Organization Bangkok

Lloyd Sommerla.d Head of Section dealing with Press News Agencies Techniques UNESCO, Paris J. Milwertz Regional Public Information Officer World Health Organization New Delhi

Peter Armour ICAO Representative in South-East Asia Bangkok Colin Mackenzie Public Relations Officer International Telecommunications Union Geneva ·I

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III. UNITED NATIONS AND REUTED AGENCIES (Cont 1d) Richard Ford Head, Information and Library Services General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Geneva Brian Jones Director, Asia Regional Office UNIOO' Bangkok Georges Pawloff Regional Officer for Asia and the Far East International Atomic Energy Agen cy Bangkok IV. CONFERENCE SECREI'ARIAT William Tanzer Chief, United Nations Information Service Bangkok Leila Doss United Nations Infonnation Officer Bangkok Satis Indrakarnhaeng Infonnation Assistant Bangkok A. Majeed Professional Assistant Bangkok

Takanori Aeba Information Assistant Tokyo A• .M.M. Sha.habuddin Information Assistant Karachi - 5 -

'lHE ASIAN EDITORS' ROUNDTABLE, BANGKOK

Monday, November 25 1 1963, Morning The first sessicn of the Asian Editors' Roundtable was opened at 10.00 a.m. by U Nvtm., Executive Secretary of ECAFE, and immediately adjourned after a minute of silence in tribute to the late U .s. President, John Kennedy.

Tuesday, November 26, 1963, Morning

U Nyun, Executive Secretary of ECAFE 1opened the Asian Editors' Roundtable at 10.00 a.m.

Dr. Hernane Tavares de Sa, United Nations Under-Secretary for Public Information, read the message of U.N. Secretary-General U Thant to the Editors' Roundtable. The Secretary-General pointed out that one of the most urgent needs of contemporary society was to embark 6n a joint effort to raise more than two-thirds of the world Is population to a c ndition ccmpatible with human dignity. He emphasized the need for 8 the support of an informed and sympathetic world opinioo. 11 for the efforts of the United Nations in the economic and social fields. Leaders of the information media, he added, were in a privileged position to mobilize public opinion. The Secretary-General, having been a free-lance journalist himself, was aware that it was not easy to focus the interests of the public on subjects that did not carry in them elements of drama and controversy such as the political news that crowded headlines and radio waves. He hoped that as a result of this roundtable, editors would devote more thought and reflection to the econondc and social problans of their region and of the world and more space and time in their newspapers and broadcasting services to an anal,.vsis of the problems being tackled within the context of the U .N. Development Decade.

Lieutenant General Amnuay Chairojana then delivered a message of welcome from the Thai Prime Minister, Field Marshal Sa.rit Thanarat, who stressed the vital role of information in bringing about a 11 happy understanding" between the government and the people and among the people of different nations. Prime Minister Sarit went on to eq,hasize that Thailand's basic policy was one of democracy and alignment with free democracies. The country's intelligentsia was now in the process of drafting a suitable censtitution. The Government

/was multiplying -6- was multiplying efforts to raise living standards and to make Thailand economically independent. In conclusion he hoped the Roundtable would help promote understanding and build permanent peace.

Dr. Tavares de Sa then took the floor to present the purposes and objectives of the round.table. As an ex-journalist and professor of journalism, he said, he would explain the purpose of the Asian Editors 1 Roundtable under the traditional journalistic headings of: -what? Where? When? How? and Why?, beginning with the last question. Wh:y? When the first U .N. General Assembly was held in London in 1946 it was realized that the U.N. aims and purposes could not be achieved without the support of an informed world opinion, hence the establishment of the U.N. Office of Public Information (commonly known as O.P.I.). Today the OPI had 300 staff members, of whom 166 were professional, and the rest clerical and administrative. These people worked at Headquarters, in Geneva, at the regional economic corrmissions and in U.N. Infonnation Centers throughout the world. Such a small staff could only prove effective if its work could be multiplied by the already existing world information media. Sixteen years later, Dr. Tavares continued, the U . N. General Assembly declared the 1960 1s the UN Development Decade, and in connection with this the first editors 1 roundtable was held to discuss methods of bringing to the attention of~ world public opinion the work of the U.N. in the fields of economic and social development. The roundtable passed no formal resolutions, but suggested that similar meetings should be held, if possible, annually and on a regional basis. Dr. Tavares went on to point out that 80% of all U.N. news reported in the world's information media was political, while the economic and social work of the

U.N. 1 which formed the bulk of its activities, received only about 2Cff> of the world-wide coverage. The function of OPI, he stressed, was not to bring these developments to the attention of the public directly, but to make it available to leaders of the information media such as those represented at the preaent roundtable, so that they in turn could present it in such a way as to arouse public interest and support. What? This meeting between the staff of OPI and the editors had been called, e:xplained Dr. Tavares, to discuss the information aspects of the U.N. 1s ec0nomic and social activities in the context of the U.N. Development Decade. It was not possible in the short time available t do more than draw attention to some of the aspects of the U. N. 1 s economic and social activities in the Decade and to examine some of the problems from an information point of view. To this end, certain major projects would be presented to the participants during the course of the week, and after an expos/ of the facts the floor would be thrown open to a. discussion of what could be done to transmit this information to the public in an acceptable and easily understood form. Where? The venue of the roundtable had been decided, said Dr. Tavares, because everyone agreed that the emphasis was on underdeveloped areas, and Asia was the largest and most populous of the world ts continents. When? The date had been chosen not on~- because the weather in Bangkok was mildest at this time of year, but also because of two important forthcoming conferences: the World Conference on Trade and Development to be held in Geneva early in 1964, and the Asian Population Conference scheduled to take place in Delhi next month. How? Dr. Tavares hoped that the rountitable would elicit frank and informal discussion of the problems before the participants. However, he stressed that though the meetings would be closed, the editors were free to write about the discussions if they so wished. He envisaged the roundtable in the form of a dialogue, not only between the editors and the staff of OPI, but among the editors themselves. In this way the roundtable could be infused with creative vitality and prove truiy productive. In conclusion, Dr. Tavares posed two questions: What do we expect from this roundtable? and How do we hope to benefit from it? On the basis of the previous e:xperience, he said, he foresaw an aroused interest in this enormous field of U.N. economic and social work, coupled with a sharper focus of this interest. Realising the need to multiply its own efforts in this field, the OPI had created a unit specialising in economic and social information, and the work of this unit would be the tasis for the presentation of some of the issues before the roundtable. He hoped that the editors would leave the roundtable with the feeling that the U.N. in general and the aims of the Development Decade in particular deserved not only to be known far and wide, but to receive the full support cf news media, and enjoy the same right of access as that given to news of technical and economic activities undertaken by national governments. Indeed, the U.N. was fuliy aware -8- that its contribution could on~y constitute a fraction of the overall national effort; nevertheless, even this small contribution could play a cata~ic role out of all proportion to its intrinsic value. Mr. Alfred Max expressed the view that the problem of getting economic and social information across to the general public was by no means confined to the U.N. His own country, France, had found that there was widespread misunderstanding of basic economic facts, and that lar ge segments of public opinion held widely fontradictory beliefs. Referring to a study made by the French Government and published under the title "Economic Information - Key to Prosperity", he described the confusion which existed between the concept of 11 documentation 11 , which he defined as the data received from the interested party, and that of 11 info:rmation11 , i.e. dissemination of this data to a public whose interest might have to be aroused, "if necessary by seduction11 • The findings of the study, said Mr. Max, bore out thg0~nessew reached by OPI as presented by Dr . Tavares de Sa, i.e. that there was no lack of basic information material availabl e, but that due to a low level of general economic education there existed a barr ier to the receptivity of the public to such material. It had therefore been suggested that the Government should not co11fine itself to making the information available in the form of documentation, but should endeavour to present it in such a form as to be palatable to people at all levels of education. Mr. Pran Chopr!, while agreeding with the distinction drawn by Mr. Max between 11 documentation 11 and "information", arrived at completely different conclusions. The U.N. family of organizations, he said, were by definition world-oriented or region­ oriented, but not nation-oriented. They could, he felt, serve a more useful purpose by providing documentation with more national content, thus making it easier for writers to present it with a local slant which would have immediate and wide appeal. U.N. information, declared Mr . Chopra, should be local rather than remote, personal rather than impersonal, specific rather than general. The personal bonds existing between the information media and the public could thus be exploited to maximum effect. For example, when presenting news of some world-1.r.ride U.N. activity in a specific f i eld, i.g. soil conservation, mention could be made of similar programmes being carried out in the country or region to which this news was~ directed. Mr. Chopra expressed the conviction that even highly technical matters were of general interest if presented in the right way. He questioned what he described as the tendency of the U.N. to fight shy of controversy, which he felt could often heighten the news value of a subject and should therefore be highlighted rather than suppressed. -9-

Prince Prem Purachatra supported Mr . Choprats conclusions. His country, Thailand, he sai Q, was a firm supporter of the United Nations, and being in the fortunate position of having ECAFE and many other U.N. regional offices located in Bangkok, it was by and large kept well informed of the various activities of U.N. bodies. He suggested, however, that the information issued by OPI could be improved by the recruitment, in various countries, of local writers f or press, radio and television, who could present the material in the form most acceptable to the local public and best adapted to local conditions. Mr . Lee Siew Yee conceded the right of access of the U.N. to the world' s information media, but pointed out that its acceptance must be contingent on its news-worthiness. He agreed with Mr. Chopra that more must be done to relate material of general interest to that of a particular locality, and urged closer cooperation between the regional U.N. offices and the local press in finding regional tie-ups for local stories. Mr. Lee went on t note the absence of any representatives of advertising agencies at the roundtable. He pointed out that many newspapers had acquired the habit of issuing supplements to mark special events, and this would provide a very suitable opportunitv for publi city in connection with such events as United Nat ions Day . It was difficult, he said, to enlist the support of advertisers for such supplements unless the direct financial benefits of such support could be made clear to them. In the case of the U.N. , he suggested approaching advertising agencies a..Dd solici ting their support for the U. N. , pointi:dgout that in the long run thev would stand to benefit from the general raising of living standards which was da basic aim of the UN . Mr. A. K. Quereshi, commenting on Mr . Chopra•s remarks, said that many countries of the region had a dearth of experienced writers on economic and wocial subjects~ In some countries, indeed, there were even not enough trained newswriters. Pakistan, he added, suffered from such a scarcity of trained newspapermen, and he hoped the U.N. would consider some scheme for training information personnel. He also made a plea for more information to be made available at local U.N. information centres. In Karachi, he said, he had been unable to find, at the U.N. office, stories of local interest to illustrate material issued on general U.N. activities in specific fields of economic and social development. Mr . Kazim Zarnegar echoed the view that the U.N. information centres should make a more effective use of their resources. The handouts they issued, he said, tended to be abstract and remote, devoid of l ofal interest. In addition, there was not enough personal contact between U.N. information officers and local working journalists. - 10-

Mr. Jose Luna Castro added his voice to that of .Mr . Quereshi in support of the idea of training specialist writers in economic reporting. In the Phi lippines, he said, although the facilities for traifliiiW~tws reporters were good, no provision existed for training economic writers. He was convinced that in other developing countries like his own it was difficult to find people qualified to cover the economic and social activities of the United ~ations. The answer, suggested Mr . Castro, might be a training programme for such writers, sponsored by the U.N. This might be done by endowing a chair in journalism at a university, by providing the expert services of a professor of journalism, or by conducting xeminars on such subjects as assessing and propagating economic news . Mr . s. Kushkaki recommended that OPI convene a meeting of prominent editors in each member country, in an effort to publjcise the economic and social activities of the U.N. In order to dramatize these meetings, he sai d, a high official of OPI could take part i n them. Many countries, said Mr . Kushkaki, were anxious to give more publicity t o U.N. 1 s endeavours, but lacked personnel trained in the principles of economic journalism. The Uni ted Nations could help to overcame this problem by sponsoring training programmes for professional writers. Mr . Saville Davis commented on the statement by some participants in the Geneva Roundtable to the eff~t that the U. N. had never approached them with suggestions for feature stories on the work of the organi zation. He h~nself, although he had a special interest in this field, and had spent some time in Asia seeking stories of this nature, had never been directiy approached by the United Nations. Journalists, said Mr . Davis, are harried, overworked, overstimulated people who might nevertheless respond to a direct, personal approach, a~H~ if their interest could be aroused, might present the social and economic news which the U.N. wished to disseminate in a form which would be acceptable to local readers. The OPI, he suggested, could profitably develop a long- range programme of personal contact with influential news media all over the world. An aggressive approach was what was needed to secure and hold the attention of the reader. Three possible avenues might yield results: 1. Long- range personal contacts with the writers themselves, in an effort to arouse their interest in the U.N. 2. Having secured the interest of the individual and drawn his attention to t he material available, special facilities should be given him so as to enable him to produce an angle not generalJ..y available, e .g. through speciallv-arranged interviews, access to specialised material, etc. -ll-

3. Special-interest groups such as t he U.N. Association could be used to bring to bear pressure/on the l ocal press and i nduce t hem t c.e vote :nore space to U. N. work. This method had met with considerable success when used by various organizations in the United States, and a similar approach might yield results for the U.N.

Mr. Davis expressed the conviction that there were scores of serious writers eminently qualified to present news of an economic and social nature to the public. In order to be free to do so, they must be released from their r outine assignments,

and the OPI could encourage this trend by developing a campaign to 11 seduce" such writers and winning their personal commitment to the U. N. Mr. Chaiyog;Chava+it agreed with Mr . Quereshi on the need for wore competent writers on economic and social subjects. He also endorsed the view that the material issued by OPI should be more carefully tailored to local interests and requirements. Sir Charles Moses endorsed the comments made by Mr . Davis. The pressures of work and deadlines were limiting factors which affected not only neWllpapers , he said, but all information media. He was of the opinion that it might be useful to establish and maintain contact with e:xpert commentators wherever they existed. More thought should also be given, he said, to the preparation of OPI handouts.

Tuesday, November 26 , 19631 Afternoon Mr. Alan Bevens noted that previous speakers had touched on most of the problems connected with the presentation of the U.N. story, but he would like t o draw attention to an additional fact: OPI, he said, issued such a vast quantity of press material that it was physically impossible for the mass media to deal with it adequately. He himself did not see how this problem could be r esolved, since every committee and sub-committee had to be covered, and because of its strict mandate of ~artiality the OPI could not draw attention to items of special news value. He agreed with Mr . Chopra on the necessity to provide a local angle to the news , and to relate this to the larger picture in a specific and lively way. The United Nations, suggested Mr. Bevens, might consider commissioning qualifiea feature writers to prepare stories on economic and social subjects, under their 01·m names. This approach might combine the advantages of world-wide distribution for the writer, with greater latitude for analysis and comment than would be possible in the work of an anonymous international official. Mr. V. Dumbletom compared the U. N. news picture to a vast mural, of which not more than a small area could be absorbed at one t ime. He pointed out that in the case -12-

of his own country, New Zealand, there was a widespread interest in South-East Asia because of the Colombo Plan and other issues of mutual concern. It was not easy, however, to interest readers in remoter areas of which they had no prior knowledge. He felt that some lesson wight be drawn by the U.N. fr1'm this fact, and urged that "area appeal II be exploited along the lines already put forward by other speakers in the discussion. Mr. Narayan Bahadure Singh said that there was still a great deal to be done in his country, NE.pal, before the public information media could be established on a sound footing, for both trained journalists and translators were in short supply. The Development D~cade, he BDi:J went on, was of great importance and concern to his country, and his government wished to project the U.N. image and tell its story. To do this, however, professional help and translation facilities were sorely needed. Mr. Ma.x took the floor t~ clarify a misunderstanding which he said had arisen as a result of his remarks at the morning session. The information study to which he had referred did not in fact, he explained, reconnnend that official bodies take over the function oft the tradt.ional news media, that of disseminating information directly to the general public. Rather the proposal had been that these bodies should undertake to supply the required documentation to those who were normally engaged in redissemination of news. Mr. Davis corroborated Mr. Dumbleton's view that it was difficult to interest the general public in remote areas because of the essential local character of the average reader's bterestai concern!• He maintained, however, that any account of hun1an endeavour anywhere in the world could be made interesting to readers anywhere if properly presented by a competent writer highlighting the concrete aspects of the story. It was up to the writers themselves, he declared, to ferret out these angles of special appeal. Mr. Chopra began his intervention with the remark that he could now agree with Mr. Ma.x on the subject of documentation and information in view of his clarification of his earlier statement. Returning to the question of who should undertake to write stories for local readers, he reiterated that he considered this to be a job for local wbiters. Mr. Quereshi had said that in many countries of the regiongtRgrstandard of journalism was too low for specialized writers to be available locally, and this was certainly true of his own country, India. On the ot her hand, in these countries the readers• knowledge of economic and social matters was correspondingly low, and the local writer was therefore in a position to satisfy his readers, besides having the additional advantage of a first-hand knowledge of their tastes. Personal appeal, -13- he added, might be even more important than professional competence in dealing with the public, and he considered that it was nDt talent that was lacking so much as a sense of direction. He therefore suggested making use of whatever talent was already available, instead of waiting till a high standard of journa­ lism had been established, for on-the-job axperience was the best possible form of training. Mr. Chopra also proposed that OPI engage writers to prepare features in their own areas and under their own names, for they represented for their readers the great attraction of the known as against the unknown. World-wide distribution, he maintained, could never have the impact of the local and personal approach. Mr. Thip Thammavong expressed his agreement with much that had been said by previous speakers, particularly concerning the need for more direct personal contact between the OPI and the information media on the one hand, and on the other for the training of writers in the field of social and ecouomic journalism. In Laos, as in other developing countries, he added, editors were chiefly committed to dealing with the news of their own political parties, and had little or no contact with U.N. information officers. A lack of interest in U.N. material was merely a reflection of OPI's failure to provide a•tractive subject-matter for their use. OPI releases and documents were well produced, Mr. Thip went on, but they did not reach the public for which they were intended. He considered that some of the money spent in this way might be more jroductively used to strengthen the existing news media in individual countries. Moreover, a training scheme might be set up to teach prospective writers how to appraise and analyze economic news. Mr. Stanway Cheng pointed out that he represented a Chinese-language newspaper. At a recent seminar in Hong Kong, attended by representatives of the Chinese-language press, there had been a universal demand for more material to fill the feature pages, of which each edition carried a minimum of two. Since between 200 and 300 Chinese­ language papers were published in South-East Asia, and much of the material was pooled, he felt that here was great scope for the presentation of U.N. material, which would be assured of a vast and receptive audience. Mr. Yoshinori Maeda observed that the mass media had an obligation to give jaximum publicity to U.N. economic and social activities, which aimed to secure world peace and assist the developing countries. OPI, he said, should not approach the public directly, but through the existing channels of communication. The problem, he suggested, should be dealt with by a two-fold approach• 1) Direct and continuing contacts should be established with regional press and broadcasting services. 2) In -14-

so doing, a variety of approaches should be attempted, so that eaoh area could be offered material tailored to its specific needs. Mr. Maeda reported that useful contacts were being maintained with the U.N. Information Centre in Tokyo. He shared the views of previous speakers on the need for qualified and competent writers on economic subjects. Mr. Cecil Graham charged that the "U.N. image" was almost non-existent in Ceylon. The U.N. Information Centre, he explained, was situated in a remote part of town, with inadequate telephone and other communication facilities. So far as he could see, it functioned merely as a post office, sending out pd material received from U.N. headquarters, and making no attempt to supplement it with stories of local interest or even to interpret it in terms understandable to local readers. Even special requests for such material had failed to elicit a satisfactory response. Mr. Graham cited the example of a 15()-page ECAFE report, and said it was essential to have available a digest of such reports, ang+ed to the individual countries. The vernacular press in Ceylon, he added, was very important, but it had experienced great difficulty in obtaining suitable material from OPI. He mentio­ ned another instance in which two U.N. agencies published diametrically opposed conclusions on the same subject, and ttxwa: the local information staff had been at a loss to interpret VXKKKX7ff the situation, or to give the necessary guidance. Mr. Castro &il'e•d with Mr. Graham's asses~ment of the importance of the vernacular press, which in his country,"he said, was in fact the only contact the rural people had with the news, since the English-language papers were mainly confined to the towns. He asked whether OPI supplied material in the vernacular, and stressed that it was essential to do so if the U.N. wished to have access to the widest possible public. U Nyun said that he had listened to the discussion with great interest and had been stimulated by the views expressed and the suggestions made. As far as ECAFE was concerned, he pointed out, its primary responsibility was to consider the region as a whole, and it therefore could not emphasize projects of purely local impact. As an example of this approach he cited the Asian Highway project, in which the building of a bridge within one country's borders was the exclusive responsibility of that country, while the connecting links between the road systems of that country and its neighbours were the coniern of ECAFE as a whole. Each new problem, U Nyun went on, had to be considered from the regional angle, and must satisfy three main conditions before it could be undertaken by the Comm­ ission. It must be of interest to three or mor e countries of the region; it must serve to implement or formulate• national government policy; and it must show promise of yielding benefits in a reasonable period of time. -15-

One of Asia's greatest problems, said U Nyun, was a lack of communication bet ween countries of the region, partly stemming from/!eep- rooted tradition of reserve. In support of this view he cited examples of duplication of efforts in adjoining countries, a situation that ECAFE was attempting to overcome by encouraging an exchange of information. ECAFE, he explained, tried to make the countries of Asia feel that they belonged together and that it would be to their mutual advantage to work together. In addi.tion to the Asian Highway, the Mei:ong Development Scheme was another out standing regional project, in which four countries with no tradition of cooperation were now working together for the good of all, in spite of the fact that two of them had severed all relations in every other field. Still another example of regional cooperation was the projected Asian Institute for Economic Development and Planning, in which trainees from all over the region would study together, thus acquiring a basis for1uniform approach to the region's common problems which would help to ease the way to greater future cooperation. In conclusion, U Nyun said he realised that techni~al documents and reports tended to be unexciting, but he hoped that the editors would find a way to convey the message in such a way as to :c:rut~interest and inform the general public and create a new type of enlightened reader. Sir Charles Moses said that so far as he was aware no one had suggested that projects of value to one country only should be undertaken. There seemed to be unanimous agreement on the need for projects to be regional in scope, but he stressed that local appeal must be introduced when these projects were presented to the public in individual countries. Dr. Tavares de Sa then took the floor to comment on some of the points raised during the discussion. Concerning the right of ad&ess for U.N. news, he explained that he was only referring to economic and social news, since there was extensive coverage of the political developments in the U.N. by the mass media of the world. Technical news was often arid, said Dr. Tavares; it was slow-moving and lacked the drama of controversy. OPI did not expect front-page coverage or peak listening time to be devoted to this t ype of story, but it did hope that the coverage of such U.N. programmes would be as good as that given to similar projects undertaken by national gove1nments. He admitted that to be acceptable a news story must stand on its own merit, but he also advanced the view that U.N. social and economic material wagrr~ected through no inherent fault in the story itself, but because of the inability of the mass media to evaluate it correctly. This was especially true of Asia , whe re th e press was more used to handling. political. . news, and was often -16- lacking in the techniques of economic reporting. Turning to the question of training, Dr. Tavares explained that such programmes fell within the domain of UNESCO rather than of the OPI. Within the resources of OPI, however, an attanpt had been made to meet the need fGr training economic journalists through the Tri angular Fellowship Programne. This was a scheme by which young professional journalists were selected from the developing countries and then e:xposed to the economic and social activit ies of the U.N. family bv being sent first to the regional economic commissions serving their area, then to U.N. Headquarters, and finallv to Geneva, the home of many specialized agencies, and to Rome to visit the headquarters of FAO. The 11 triangle11 referred to the three regions served by the U. N. economic commissions, from which the Fellows were recruited, and to the three centres of U.N. activity visited in the course of their tour. This could not properly be called a training pr gramme, since the participants were young professional writers who showed promise of prominence in their field. Three such programmes had been sponsored to date, and the results had so far been encouraging, in terms of the material produced on U.N. topics after the Fellows t return. As for the question of engaging specialized writers, Dr. Tavares announced that at present the economic and social unit of OPI was considering the possibility of providing assistance to news media in the preparation of special features, by assigning a U.N. researcher to work with the feature writer or broadcaster concerned. Mr. Gohl Obhrai, Director of OPI•s Press, Publications and Public Services Division, then proceeded to comment on sane of the participants I statements and suggestions. He endorsed Mr. Max's definition of 11 documentation11 as the substance fran which «inf l'JID&tion 11 programmes were derived, and agreed that the latter must have some degree of 11,teduction" in their presentation. ~ In repl.v to Mr. Chopra, he outlined OPI's two-fold ~e1M of [email protected], i.e. to assi~t national. information ·media in the dissemination of material on the U.N., and when necessary to originate supplementary material. In the early days of the U.N., he recalled, the policy had been to develop a U. N. voice and personality, and OPI had therefore attempted to approach the public directly through its own radi program.mes, films, and publications, while support of national inf rniation media was cmfined to assisting accredited correspondents in coverage of U.N. activities. Since Dr. Tavares de Sa had assumed responsibility for OPI, Mr. Obhrai went on, the emphasis had been shifted towards support of national infonnation media, for OPI n:aw realized fully tha.t even if it had had sufficient ma.npower ..rid financial resources, it should not attempt to by-pass member governments by approaching their people directl.v. ,--17.:.- -- ~ - And Mr. Obhrai declarod that once it had been recmgnized that the principal task of OPI was to support national efforts to disseminate U.N. news, it became apparent manoower that the p ■ n ■ wme>l and financial resources at its disposal were adequate. He went on to stress that the U.N. was seeking no favours in attempting to promote a wider knowledge and understanding of the organization's efforts to accelerate the economic and social progress of its member states. Personal contacts with representatives of the information media, he pointed out, were being established through such gatherings as the Editors' Roundtable. This was the second roundtable organized by OPI, and a third was planned for Latin .America in the near future. As for the problem of placing a "regional slant" on OPI material, Mr. Obhrai said he welcomed suggestions as to how this could be done, taking into account the large quantity of material produced by OPI. He himself had reservations as to the practical value of digesting and editing this mass of material in an attempt to make it locally palatable. Might it not be more economical and productive, he asked, for editors and writers to select items of special potential interest from the general catalogue of information about all U.N.'s economic and social activities circulated regularly by the OPI's economic and social unit? The local angle, he felt, should be supplied by the national orga.hization it~,lf rather than by OPI, and surely it was not too much to ask editors and broadcasters to make their own selection from among the material available to them. With regard to U.N. Information Centres, Mr. Obhrai reported that these had grown in number from 28 to 50, and in time it was hoped to set up one local infor­ mation office in every U.N. member country. These centres paralleled the activity of OPI at headquarters; i.e. their function was not to contact the people of the country directly, but to try to stimulate the national organs to undertake the task of publicising the U,N.'s work. Of course, local information officers would render the maximum possible assistance by providing documentation and indicating where specific information could be obtained. He welcomed any suggestions for improving the operation of these information centres. Mr. Quereshi said that the situation in Karachi regarding U.N. information was "not encouraging". He saw a discrepancy between Mr. Obhrai's statement that OPI offices could provide mass media with information but could not angle it for local use, and Dr. Tavares' proposal to make researchers available to help feature writers produce material on U.N. Dr. Tavares de Sa explained that the scheme he had described was still in the planning stage. He then called on Mr. Sommerlad to report on UNESC0 1 s training programmes in the information field. -18-

Mr. Lloyd Somrnerlad, of UNESCO, explained that due to the lack of funds it had not been possible to undertake large-scale training of journalists. UNESCO aimed to stimulate and promote journalism training chiefly by interesting others in the problem. Already assistance .had been received from various organizations such as the National Press Institute, the Ford Foundation, the Asia Foundation, etc. Through funds provided by the U.N. Technical Assistance Board, he reported, fellowships for a number of journalists had been provided; seminars had been organized and training programmes planned for 1964; higher training centres had been set up for Latin America and Africa; and special courses had been arranged for African journalists. It was further hoped to organize seminars to help train writers on economic and scientific subjects. As Mr. Sommerlad saw it, the main problem at present was to provide enough journalists with a sound general professional background, and until this was achieved the training of specialists must be undertaken within the co~tries concerned. Local training was often more valuable than training abroad, he felt, even though of necessity it mu'i~~eE5~~ucted at a lower level.

Wednesda November 2 Afternoon -W~ f~·c.,:..f~t:J ,o.....J , .. w ' U. EC\\ ~•~ ,..t.,~ Dr. Tavares de Sa opened the meeting,~which was devoted to a survey of ECAFE 1 s activities in the conlext of the U.N. Development Decade. The roundtable had been convened in Bangkok, he pointed out, because it was the headquarters of ECAFE, and it was hoped to focus the attention of world information media on the U.N.'s work in Asia. Explaining that the bulk of the .organization's social and economic activity took place outside U.N. Headquarters, Dr. Tavares described the four regional economic commissions, for Europe, Asia, Africa a.nd Latin America, as the centres of gravity for this work. U Nyun, Executive Secretary of ECAFE, gave an outl~ne of the history and functions of the commission. The U.N. Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) had been established in 1947, he said, to deal with the problems of reconstruction and rehabilitation which were the legacy of World War II. These problems, it was found, could only be solved with the help of intensive economic research and analysis. At first ECAFE produced one main publication, the Economic Survey of Asia and the Far East, but over the years it evolved a number of opera­ tional activities. In this evolutionary process, said U Nyun, two forces were at work. One was the will for development of the member countries themselves, who had grown in number -19-

from 9 to 28, so that the ECAFE region now covered about one fifth of the land surface of the earth, with about half the human race. The second force was ECAFE's own built-in self-improvement mechanism, which enabled it to grow with its member countries, represent their interests and rEli)ond to their needs. U Nyun went on to speak of the three criteria which must govern any ~~o~~%%Y°/ undertaken by ECAFE. It must be of interest to three or more member countries; it must lead to a formulation of government policy; and it must promise practical results in the foreseeable future. In some cases, he added, these results had come about sooner than expected, as in the Mekong Project, the Asian Highway and the Asian Institute for Economic Planning and Development. Referring to the lack of cooperation among Asian countries as a traditional problem of the region, U Nyun declared that this often resulted in wasteful dupli­ cation of effort. EC.A.FE attempted to counter t~is trend, he said, by encouraging discussion not only of the region's achievements, but also of it~ failures and shortcomings. Many of the Commission's most successful projects, such-as. the Mekong De:velopment- Scheme, the -Asian Highway and the Asian Development . Institute, had been c noaived .ta as a solution to the region's most pressing needs, and the measure of be t . t their success was the measurem8f1ctoig~tia~sin implementing them. In addition to organizing meetings and study groups, said U Nyun, EC.A.Fi~ent a number of teams to member countries to conduct on-the-spot surveys in such fields as statistics, rural electrification, customs f ormalities, etc. ECAFE was not alone, he concluded, for over the years a great deal of co operation and assistance had been forthcoming from the industrially advanced nations. For example, the Mekong Project had started with four countries; now it included 25. He appealed to the editors to assist in bringing the work of ECAFE, which carried in it elements of drama and news value, to the attention of the public in their own countries. Mr. Chaiyong said that he was fully aware of the importance of EC.AFE•s work, and had therefore devoted two pages of his newspaper to news of economic and social development. He made a request fhr more material in the Thai language to be issued by the U.N. Information Service in Bangkok, as well as for more photographic material. Mr. Chopra asked whether ECAFE, being smaller and more homogeneous than the U.N., had been able to move closer to a solution in clses of conflict between a nation's individual interests and its regional commitments. Wherein lay the decision-making

power in such oases? un l"k1 e was one U Nyun replied that ECAFE's approach,m that of the U.N., in which all deci- sions were unanimous. The Commission was proud of its record of never having to press a d · · ec1s1on to a vote, but relying on persuasion to achieve unanimity. ,... ··" - -20-

Mr. Lee Siew Yee asked who would be responsiblefor the supervision and maintenance of the Asian Highway. U Nyun explained that these questions were discussed at zonal meetings of the countries participating in the project. If a country was too poor to build a road, it could draw on various sources of external aid. Mr. M.S. Ahmad, Chief of ECAFE's Transport and Communications Division, reported that pictorial coverage of the Asian Highway project was being ••iiutdx made, and that photographs would soon be available to interested editors. With regard to maintenance of the network, he explained that each country would be responsible for the portion lying within,& borders. Once the missing links had been constructed, the project would become a reality. At pre•ent minimum standards had b~en laid down for the roads within the network, depending on the economic situation of each member country. Later, when more funds became available, these minimum standards would be raised. The experts were keeping these problems continuously under review. Mr. Davis expressed the view that contrary to wh~t a number of speakens had indicated, ECAFE projects were not technical and dull, and :their potential news­ worthiness could be brought out by any good reporter. There were two facets to this problem, he said. One was that the U.N. should encourage newspapers to send more good reporters. The other involved a modifi­ cation of the organization's own approach to the matter. Furthermore, every project contained elements of colour, drama and controversy which a competent reporter or f eature writer who was not a "public relations person" could discover. The U.N. should stimulate independent writers to seek these stories, he said, ~. Tavares de Sa agreed that Mr. Davis had raised an issue of vital concern to OPI, i.e. the inherent newsworthiness of the UN story. The question, he said, was what could be done about it by OPI on . the one hand, and the editors on the other. OPI could make the raw material available, but could not go the whole way in introducing all the elements of a good story. The editors, on the other hand, were free to exercise their prerogative of selection. Mr. Zarnegar asked how the suggestion for joint river development by Iran and Afghanistan had evolved. Mr. Khanna, of ECAFE 1 s Division of Water Resources Development, explained that the possibilities for joint water developemtn were first ascertained from maps. The next step was to send a reconnaissance survey team, after which the two countries concerned were brought together at the ECAFE session to discuss scope for joint action. - 21 -

U NY'Ul1 referred to another aspect of the question, the awareness of member countries that political problems were transient, and must not be allowed to hinder constructive long-range projects. The Mekong countries continued to cooperate for the developnmt of the river, he said, though some of them rad no diplomatic relations cutside the committee. Prince Prem reverted to 11r . Davis• suggestion that outside writers should be stimulated to write on U.N. subjects. He proposed that the U. N. and its related agencies maintain a roster of competent and well-known writers with special interests, who might be induced to write on U.N themes . Mr . Obhrai renarked that OPI had given much thought to this question. He admitted that the abstract, prosaic form in which the material v,as issued failed to appeal not only to the public at large, but even to the redisseminatcrs, who also needed to have their !}ppetites whetted. OPI was making an attempt to solve this problem by setting up the economic arrl social unit. Even this unit, however, could only operate within the narrow framework of its international mandate . It had no power to select, editorialize or evaluate, for fear of running afoul of either the member states or sister organizations. As to the qU3stion of engaging outside writers, this rrethod had been tried and abandoned as useless, since these writers had of necessity to confonn to the OPI•s .s.tandards of impartiality and objectivity, thereby losing all their individuality and colour. The OPI, he emphasized, was by definition impers onal, but there were nevertheless a variety of ways in which it could help the redisseminators to locate an interesting story and bring it to the attention of the public. Mr . Obhrai went on to describe the Asian Radio Project organized in 1950 by the U.N. Infonnation Service in Ban€'J{ok. Representatives of five radio and 'IV services in the ECAFE region had been taken on a tour of UN projects in the region at OPI expense, an:l given the facilities to see the projects and collect visual an:l recorded material for stories which were then presented over their own networks. This experiment had been eminentzy successful, and had resulted in spontaneous irrlividual coverage of UN projects on five Asian radio and 'IV networks~ square~ Dr. Tavares de Sa put the problemJbefore the participants. He said that while 1;11 the elements for ma.king a good story were available, it was for the editors, and f or them alone, to find and use them. The decision was treirs. Sir Charles Moses expressed his keen interest in the Asian Highway Project, which he felt should form the subject of a major television documentary. The Austr­ alian Broadcasting Commission an:l perhaps also tre Canadian Broadcasting Commission -22- might attempt such a programme. An even better idea, he went on, would be to undertake it as a joint enterprise in cooperation with another major Asian network, such as NBK, and he and Mr. Maeda had agreed to discuss this possible venture. This was only one approach to the question, Sir Charles pointed out, and he asked why something similar could not be done "for the small fellow", and why the OPI could not on occasion produce features which were neither colourless nor controversial. Mr. Obhrai explained that OPI could reach vast numbers of people directly by means of radio and television programmes, through the cooperation of national networks. Here the "dead hand of OPI" need not necessarily appear, as in the case of material for the press. Indeed, OPI had already discovered a formula for pre­ senting some of its stories successfully, one such z•xi• instance being the tele­ vision series "International Zone", which hati dealt with such subjects as the Asian Highway and the work of ECAF.E. Moreover, an excellent film on the activities of ECAFE had been made by OPI. Mr. Obhrai emphasized that the activities of OPI could never take the place of tho~e of the information ~edia of member countries. The impact of U.N. programmes, he said, must of necessity be limited, since .fieimanatei from a source with a vested interest in the organization. lt would be far ~ore effective to utilize the facilities of member governments, and that is why he welcomed the type of activity which Sir Charles had just suggested. Mr. Maeda gave his full support to Sir Charles' proposal. His network, NHK, already had a number of teams visiting countries of Asia to obtain coverage of interesting projects. He asked U Nyun whether ECAFE could offer these teams facilities such as free access to these countries and projects, it being understood that all expenses would be borne by NHK. U Nyun offer~d the fullest cooperation of ECAFE, subject to purely physical difficulty of obstacles, such aslaccess to certain portions of the Asian Highway. Mr. Maeda added that there was no wish to be exclusive. The material thus gathered could be provided to all Asian friends who showed interest in it. Mr. Tanzer, Chief of the U.N. Information Service, ECAFE, said that the development of information media varied widely from one country of the region to the other. He hoped that many of the editors present would send reporters to cover the forthcoming ECAFE session in Teheran, where the major projects described would come up for examination. After the session, arrangements could be made for a team of journalists to travel on the portion of the proposed Asian Highway between Teheran and Calcutta. -23-

Mr, Qµereshi pfoposed that the U.N. consider extending travel facilities to news writers to visit U.N. projects. This approach, he felt, would pay good dividends. Mr. Obhrai said that while Mr. Quereshi's suggestion merited careful study, he feared that it could not be implemented because of existing budgetary limi­ tations, since this kind of allocation had only been authorized by the General Assembly for radio projects~wfxt•t:wxkillix Dr. Tavares de Sa reminded participants that while the present roundtable had confined its discussion to information on the U.N.'s economic and social activities, OPI was responsibile for covering the organization's political activities also. Most of Mr. Obhrai's staff was engaged in day-to-day coverage of U.N. meetings, particularly during the General Assembly session. However, within the . necessary limitation of manpower, the OPI hoped to be able to expand its activities. Mr. Kusbkaki was of the view that the main concern of the editors should be to make the press in their countries conscious of their responsibility to tell the story of the U.N.'s social and economic work. Yet some of the co'l).lltries represented at the roundtable did not~Rve a U.N. Information Centre, and he wondered whether OPI was planning to remedy this situation. He suggested that OPI mi ght profitably engage a team of three experts at least, whose task would be to help newspapers and radio stations produce material on . U.N. activities. Mr. Obhrai said there was no financial provision for increasing the number of U.N. Information Centres in 1964. The Under-Secretary for Public Information, however, hoped to be able to work towards the setting up of more centres in the not too distant future. Mr. Max expressed the opinio~ that the following factors decided whether an ECAFE story was published or nots First, was this story going to appeal to their readers as the editors knew them, through personal contact and reader research surveys? The answer was yes, for readers everywhere were interested in constructive e1forts to change conditions in another part of the world. Secondly, had this effort already achieved some concrete results, or was it still only in the blue-print stage? Thirdly, did the story illustrate, not only an ECAFE activity, but its impact on the lives of ordinary people? Fourthly, what illustrations were selected to give an overall impression of the project? This was a significant point, he added. -24-

Mr. Singh asked why it was that the world's information media devoted so much more attention to the political activities of the U.N. than to its economic and social work. Could this imply a fault in dissemination? Mr. Obhrai replied that it was not a question of faulty dissemination, but simply one of the f acts of life that the conflict and drama of political news seemed to attract more public interest. Mr. Chopra suggested that a small meeting might be arranged of those editors who had shown particular interest in the Mekong Project. A similar meeting might be organized to discuss the Asian aighway. On the subject of controversy, Mr. Chopra felt that it added an element of drama and should not be ignored. Rather than suppressing controversial material, he felt that the U.N. should bring it out into the light of day. OPI would be doing the U.N. a disservice if it did not publicise the obstacles hindering the achievements of the U.N.'s aims, so that they could be examined and overcome. ~~res de Sa said that though OPI was in favour of searching analysis 1:p1d~criticism of the U.N., it had to maintain a certain reticence for obvious reasons. Neveril:eless it endeavoured through personal contacts to bring the facts to the attention of those who could make use of them. The OPI was well aware of its responsibilities in this field, and tried to shoulder them in an atmosphere of mutual professional trust.

Thursday November 28, 1963, Afternoon Dr. Tavares de- Sa- i~troduce4 the topic of the afternoon, the U.N. Conference .LJ on Trad~ a:r,1d l)evelopment, scheduied to ·oegin a twelve-week session in Geneva on ~ March 23rd, 1964. Describing this conference as the major event in the U.N. calendar for 1964, Dr. Tavares said that it might also prove to be a landmark in the relations between the developed and the developing countries. The problem to be tackled was one of the most serious obstacles to the growth of Africa, Asia and Latin .America, .i.e. that of correcting the present trade imbalance and devising a more equit~ole system of world trade. Dr. Tavares reported that OPI was arranging to give this important meeting the full coverage usually reserved for a passion of the U.N. General Assembly. A central news desk would be set up, plus four radio booths. Regular broadcasts would be made in English, French, Spanish and Russian, as well as in certain Asian and African languages. U Nyun then introduced Mr. R. Krishnamurti, Chief of ECAFE's Trade Division, -25- who was closely connected with preparations for the World Trade Conference, in collaboration with the Secretary-General of the conference, Dr . Raul Prebisch. He added that it was fitting that mankind should now think of trade in terms of economic development, so that at last something was being done to prevent the gap from widening stiml further between the rich and poor nations. Mr. R. Krishnamurti pointed out that this was the first full-scale meeting to deal not only with world trade but with the problem of development as a whole. It was exactly one year ago that the General Assembly had decided to convene this meeting, whmse purpose was to consider the problems involved in the expansion of trade as a dynamic force in economic and social progress, as well as to takePijiiift1 steps to meet the special -needs of the 4eveloping nations. Already, continued Mr. Krishnamurti, certain industrial countries who had been initially scepti~al about the conference had shown their willingness to cooperate. The prepa~tory committee, which had held two meetings so far, had still not reao~ed unanimity, but the way had been ~repared for future discussions. EC.A.FE, he added, was helping to prepare the countries of the region for the conference -by a direct appreach to member governments as well as by including it in the agenda of all regional meetings. _ It was being stressed that each member country had a role to play in the conference, in cooperation with other countries of the region, the other developing countries of the world, as well as the industrially advanced nations. The Secretary-General of the conference, Dr. Raul Prebisch, was visiting a number of countries in Asia and .Africa in order to enlist their interest and cooperation and so ensure the success of the conference. Outlining some of the more controversial issues before the conference, Mr. Krishnamurti stated that chief among these was the problem of the Trade Gap, i.e. the fact that the developing countries were not earning enough from their export trade to pay for their requirements of imported machinery and capital goods. In the past this gap had been bridged by foreign aid, but this practice was now consid­ ered not altogether desirable, and it was felt that the only truly satisfactory solution was the development of %TRW the export trade of the primary producing countries. In order to assist the developing countries, the industrialized nations must be prepared to make certain concessions, he said. With regard to primary commodities, said Mr. Krishnamurtm, the markets for these products must be expanded and an effort must be made to reduce trade barriers and eliminate discriminatory practices. The developing countries themselves must help to open up new markets for their goods by improving the quality of their production, modernising their marketing methods and diversifying their production. -26-

Another topic to be discussed at the conference, according to Mr. Krishnamurti, was a proposed system of contemporary financing, whereby the industrialized coun­ t.ries would make available to developing countries an International Fund upon which they could draw for some of their development needs. It had also been suggested that the developing mountries encourage the~ marti:llJI production of new industries suitable for export, and that to encourage them the industrial countries should admit more processed and manufactured goods from the developing nations. Trade between the developing countries and the socialist economies was also a major issue before the conference, said Mrl Krishnamurti, since the countries with centrally-planned economies should logically be -asked to make the same concessions to the developing countries as the highl~ industrialized nations of the west. The conference, he added, would also reappraise the effec~iveness of inter­ national machinery relating to the expansion of trade. A report on this subject alternative had been prepared by a group of experts, and four~ proposals had been advanced• 1. A completely new U.N. specialized agency should be set upa an International Trade Organization. 2. Fuller and more constructive use should be made of the existing machinery offered by the UN and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), hand in hand with a further evolution of GATT and a reorganization of the work of the U.N. Economic and Social Council. 3. G~TT should be revised and strengthened, independently of other changes in the U.N. apparatus. 4. A permanent forum should b4 established which would be open to all members of the U.N. and supported by a standing committee and an executive organ within the U.Nt Secretariat. In conclusion, Mr. Krishnamurtm remarked that he had only touched upon some of the major problems which would be raised at the conference. Already some progress had been made and certaini concessions obtained, so that there was every hope that the meeting would be a success. Mr. Chopra said that many of the participants must feel diffident about express­ ing views on this item of their agenda, since they knew so little about the subject. He asked whether the plenary mee.tings of the conference would be open to the press. OPI would have to make a major effort, he warned, if it were to project successfully the purposes and progress of this conference. It must be very~ careful not to -27- create the impression that differences of opinion were being glossed over. If such differences were exposed, on the contrary, world public opinion might be mobilized to exert pressure to remove the obstacles to agreement. The set ting up of any new agency to deal with world trade problems would imply the presence of sanctions, Mr. Chopra continued. In this issue the national pride of both the industrial and the developing countries would play an important part. He hoped that the press would have access to as many of the proceedings as possible. Mr. Zarnegar expressed the belief that trade and development were vital issues in today's world. Would it not be possible for the developing countries to get together, he asked, in order to form an OPEC-style orgahization? Mr. Krishnamurti, in reply to the question raised ~y Mr. Chopra, said that all plenary meetings of the World Trade Conference w~uld be open to the press, while the sub-committees would meet in camera. The press would, however, be briefed after these private meetings. Mr. Graham asked whether the developing countries could be asked to lower trade barriers,in view of their need to protect their own manufactures. Mr. Krishnamurti replied that in this case it was the industrialized countries who were being asked to lower their trade barriers in favour of imports from the developing countries. Mr. Kushkaki made further inquiries as to the facilities which OPI intended to extend to the press correspondents covering the confer ence. Would there be a special news service, or must they continue to rely on the international news agency dispatches? Mr. Obhrai explained that OPI was making more elaborate arrangements than ever before to facilitate coverage of this conference, which would last for 12 weeks. Like the General Assembly, the meetings would be conducted in plenary and in a number of main committees. The news desk in Geneva would cover every meeting and issue summaries and press releases which would help accredited correspondents in preparing their own dispatches. Special arrangements were also being made for radio coverage, recordings etc. as a service to redisseminators. In addition, U.N. Information Centres all over the world would receive a cabled summary of the day's proceedings for distribution in their area. Mr. Davis remarked that the reporter's task would be complicated by the mass of documentation issued. This, he added, had been the case at last year's conference on Science and Technology. Mr. Obhrai stated that the Central News Desk would maintain a team of reporters who would prepare running commentaries of the discussions. In addition, the -28-

Economic and Social unit would be in a position to brief correspondents on the main trends in the debate. While the OPI did not fight shy of controversy, he sai d.Ip it could not take any stand beyond that of recording and reporting areas of disagreement. Dr. Tavares de Sa. said that the point raised by Mr. Kushkaki was very valid. The developed countries were in a privileged position as regards press coverage of major events because they Jad foreign exchange resources at their disposal, while the developing countries often could not afford to send specialists to attend such l9cal conferences,and had therefore to r ely on theirLdiplomats who often lacked specialized knowledge of the subject at issue. Mr. Davis suggested that countries which could not afford to send their own correspondents to a conference were f orced to rely heavily on the agencies. These, however, were often glad to provide special coverage of certain aspects of a conference, at little extra co~t. Not enough editors, he felt, were aware of the a~ailability of these services, and perhaps either OPI or the roundtable partici­ pants couli undertake to spread this information. It might also be possible for a newspaper which could not send its own correspondent to ask another correspondent for special coverage, say, one dispatch a week. OPI might help by circulating the names of correspondents accredited to the conference. Dr. Tavares de Sa. said that Mr. Davis' suggestion provided food for thought. He feared, however, that in coverage of events of a highly controversial nature, many an editor in an underdeveloped country might hesitate to solicit material from a correspondent who might reflect the views of a highly industrialized nation. Prince Prem noted that the discussion so far had centred on the problems of the daily press, but Mrl Davis had now raised an issue that concerned weekly or fortnightly publications. A weekly magazine, he said, could rely on agency dis­ patches, but these were of ten slanted in favour of the industrialized economies, and ma.by publications therefore preferred to rely on U.N. information rel♦ ases. Could the OPI ar range to send special summaries to its information centres for distribution to the weekly press? It was imp»rtant, he added, that such a service be more rapid than in the past. Mr. Obhrai said that the OPI contemplated cabling brief summaries daily to all its information centres. In addition, a weekly roundup containing as much feature material as possible would be sent to all centres. There would also be broadcasts in the official languages of the U.N. and a few additional languages. ~ ··'~ -29-

Mr. Richard Ford,speaking on behalf of GATT (the General .Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) said that his organization had done a great deal to encourage trade in developing countries. GATT as an international treaty organization had been in operation for 15 years, and today had 58 full members and 15 assofiated members, of whom two-thirds were from the less-developed countries. GATT had since 1958, said Mr. Ford, concerned itself with the issues i8w~ef~i~ed the forthcoming World Trade Conference. It had already undertaken a detailed examination of the barriers to trade affecting some 32 products selected as being of special interest to the underdeveloped countries, and arrangements were in hand for the reduction or abolition of these barriers. An attempt had also been made to abolish barriers to trad~ in all tropical products. Duty on tea and tropical timber had already been removed, and. the exports of the developing countries were no longer subject to quota restrictions. Moreover, during the coming year action would be taken to reduce tariffs on other products also. Worming in close collaboration with the U.N., GATT welcomed the forthcoming conference, Mr. Ford declare~, and would give it 10~ pupport. The problem facing the conference, as ~e saw it, was that of adjusting long-establi shed patterns of international trade, and to do t his an effor8 of political will was .required. That was why the U.N. had brought its full weight to bear on the problem, and the success of the conference would depend on the willingness of all participating countries to ~i¥i¥1iji!• in reaching agreement. Mr. Dumbleton endorsed the views expressed earlier by r. Davis. If the inter­ national news agencies could be relied on to disseminate news of the political activities of the U. N., he said, s•rl)Q' there should surely be no question as to their ability to handle a problem of this nature. There were many news agencies operating, he pointed out, and they worked on a competitive basis to meet the needs of their clients. His papers had often succeeded in obtaining the special coverage they needed through a news agency, though this sometimes ingolved additional cost • . Mr. Lee Siew Yee said that his experience with trying to obtain special coverage from news agencies had no t been very encouragin ·• In one instance the cos t had been exorbitant and the story itself unsatisfactory. He hoped that the dispatches which OPI intended to sent to the information centres would be regional and even local in character, so as to fill the needs of that particular country. Mr. Obhrai replied that in prepaPing the weekly roundups OPI would try to bear in mind the int4rests of the nrious regions, within the broad framework of uni versality. ,_ - -

' . -~-

Mr. Quereshi noted that it was not very satisfactory to rely on an inter­ national news agency for interpretation of the news, for not all these agencies gave regional service. He wished to make a piea for accreditation of national news agencies to the U.N. on an international basis. Could not certain facilities be extended to them, e.g. reduced fare for travel to the venue of U.N. meetings? . aloog . He also proposed the establishment of a U.N. Press Rate »111X1Xg the lines of the special rates available to Commonwealth countries. Mrl Obhrai explained that there was no difficulty connected with the accreditation of national p••• news agencies to the OPI, whose policy was to welcome all news ~edia, including international news agencies, national organi­ zations and individual publications. OPI had no budget of its own to assist news agencies economically, but it would welcome support from information media with financial resources at their disposal. The question of cable rates, he aided, was the. concern of both UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Mr. Mac~enzie. said that ITU was .most sympathetic to the views expressed by Mr. Quereshi, but present cable rates, though still high, .wefe as low as could possibly be maintained in the present circumstances. However, it might. be possible to work out some special U.N. pre ss rate for coverage of U.N. meetings. Mr. Sommerlad expressed the interest of UNESCO in the free flow of communi­ cations. Although ITO sounded encouraging, he said, the decision rested basically with national ad.ministrations. A few countries had recently agreed on lower rates to promote a freer flow of information. The question of reduced fares for correspondents wa~ a thorny on~:/commented. It had been referred to the Asian News .Agencies Council, but no action had yet been taken on the majter. Mr. Singh expressed his staisfaction with arrangements for coverage of the World Trade Conference.~ hoped that the material would be issued in a forms~iWkx• for immediate publication, since several countries lacked competent staff to adapt it. Mr. Chopra suggested that the Central News Desk should transmit its bulletins by short-wave broadcasts rather than by sending news dispatches. These . broadcasts could be monitored and distributed by the regional information centres, a procedure that would be both quicker and more economical. He hoped that the briefings and communiques issued would be as inclusive as possible. Mr. Obhrai promised to bear in mind Mr. Chopra's suggestion conferning moni­ toring of news broadcasts. This procedure could not, however, be followed by all the -31-

information centres, he pointed out, and the chances of covering the closed sessions in this way were quite remote. Mr . Kushka.ki felt that the responsibility for monitoring the dispatdhes should fall on the member countries, not on the information centres. He hoped that reception could be strengthened for the duration of the conference. Mr . Castro suggested that newspapers could save considerable expense by pooling their resources and sharing the services of one correspondent. Dr. Tavares de Sa endorsed this view, which would have the advantage a:f of press ~~iiiiiie¥t8m the developing areas being represented at the conference. Mr. Soetojo agreed that short-wave transmissions would be the best means of obtaining speedy coverage of the conference, provided reception was strong enough. He hoped the proceedings would be made available in recorded form, and enquired as to plans for TV and film coverage. Dr. Tavares replied t~at plans had been drawn up for detailed TV and film cogerage of the conference, and said that material would be dispatched to the information centres for transmission to the TV stationintheir region. Mr. Max asked what importance would be given in the conference to a discussion on the development of tourism. Mr. Krishnamurti replied that it was still not clear how much attention the conference would give to this question. Its general importance was widely recognized, however, he said. Another agenda item which was likely to a~~act considerable attention, in his view, was that dealing with shipping and ocean freight rates. U Nyun drew the a~tention of participants to the importance of the ministerial meeting on regional cooperation which would be held in Manila December 3- 6. The World Trade Conference was one of the items on its agenda, he added, and it would also be discussed at the forthcoming ECAFE session in !eheran in March. ECAFE, he promised, would extend every facility to all those who wished to cover these meetings. He concluded with an appeal to the public opinion leaders assembled at the roundtable for assistance in obtaining maximum publicity for the Trade Conference. -32-

Friday, Nogember 29, 1963, Afternoon Dr. Tavares de Sa. explained that this meeting would be devoted to the work of the specialized agencies, with special emphasis on their activities in the context of the U.N. Development Decade. The U.N. family, he said, was composed of 18,000 t•t•:nr•ttw•at employees, 16,000 of whom were doing non-political work, and most of these were employed by the specialized agencies. Mr. Keon, Regional Information Adviser of the Food and .Agriculture Organization, outlined the aims and methods of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign, which since its inception three years ago had been conducted on three frontsa information and education; research; and action projects. It had. been discovered, however, that most of the effort was required on the first front, since nei8her member governments nor the general public had a sufficient appreciation of the present and possible future dimensions of hung~r and malnutrition. A two-way approach had thenefore been adopted, In the first place, basic infor­ mation,was being prepared and personal contact made with national opinion-forming groups, in orde+ to stimulate and direct interest. in the campaign at the country _ level. Secondly, national Freedom-From-Hunger-Campaign Committees had been . set up, comprising mainly non-governmental groups such as church and civic leaders, edu­ cators, trade union leaders, representatives of the press and industry, etc. Some of these groups had become highly effective and had undertaken vigopous 1mtttt2at publicity campaigns leading up to fund-raising projects which so far had raised 135 million for the cause. The bulk of t his activityr,i however, said Mr. Keon, had taken place in the more developed countries. The countries with food problems of their own had shown little interest in the campaign. While admitting that perhaps there was no need to make the developing countries aware of hunger, which was their daily lot, Mr. Keon felt that it was important for them to realize that now there were answers to thexr problems, in the form of better seeds, better agronomy, better storgge and better transport, to mention only a few. They must also be made aware of the need for an adequate and balanced diet. Agriculture, said Mrl Keon, was an age-old pursuit, and if real progress was to be made it was often necessary to adapt not only farming methods but also changes in the ph,Ychological, social, economic and political structure of a country. This was the formidable challenge presented ~Y the underdeveloped areas. FAO would welcome any suggestions as to how this challenge could best be met. The World Health Organization's view of the Freedom-From-Hunger-Campaign -33- was presented by Mr. J. Milwertz, Regional l'ublic Information Officer. He said that WHO was vitally interested in this campaign, since malnutrition was primarily a health problem. WHO was working closely with FAO and UNICEF in order to find a solution. What was needed, he declareq: was not only adequate feeding, but ba tter food habits. Malnutrition was in fact the largest single cause of death and disease in the world today. The mass media had devoted a great deal of time and space, said Mr . Milwertz, making to llllb people aware of the importance of a balanced diet • .An example of this was the campaign to persuade the people of Asia to eat unp~lished rice. He asked the partici pan~s for their views on the problem and for their assistance in giving greater prominence to this important task of making the public aware of ih~eed for a balanced diet. Mr. s. Kushkaki asked whether the information material made available by FAO and WHO reflectaia shift in emphasis according to whether the country in which it was being distributed was developed or underdeveloped. Mr . Keon replied that FAO material did reflect such a change of emphasis. He . referred to a land development scheme which had proved very successful in Malaysia, and which could therefore be usefully publicized in other countries interested in the area, e.g. Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The same material might prove of interest in Latin America, which was tackling similar land reform problems in a different fashion. There were no hard and fast rules, but every effort was being made to get the information to the areas where it was most applifable and would have the most impact. Mr. Milwertz added that WHO had found it very difficult to produce material applicable to countries which varied widely in their dietary and social habits. For this twt8Wt WHO sent out general info:tmation only, leaving the particular application to be worked out at lo~!l or even district government level. Mr. Bevens said that the Freedom-From-Humger- Campaign had been very successful in Britain, where the national contribution had amounted to $21 million out of a total of $35 million. This had been achieved, he said, by setting up 750 local committees to harness b£ community interest and effort, and hel felt that much of the success of the campaign was due to this grass-roots approach. B.e further advocated arousing the interest of local communities in a specific project in a specific place, since this served to focus their contributions as well as their confern. The same local interest potential might also be exploited to get the message across in the underdeveloped countries, he added. -34-

Mr. Zarnegar suggested that hunger was the daily companion of people in the underdeveloped countries, and action projects should take priority over publicity campaigns. Prince Prem said that the reverse applied to his own country. Thailand, though underdeveloped in many ways, had an abundance 6f food, and there was little or no hunger in the country. The questio~ was how to make people aware of the problem of hunger, and to do this publicity campaigns were needed. Thailand was in a position to alleviate hunger in the area by supplying :fmllli grain and seed to other people in the region, but the necessity for such action was still not fully recognized. Mrl Chopra agreed that publicity was needed and could contribute materially to the success of the project, but he pointed out that journalists faced the problem of extracting the significance and appeal from projects that . often seemed small and slow-moving. Food was .a valuable export commodity, he said, and any surplus would fin! ready market, so that in general the public was aware of the benefits to be dei ived from agricultural improvements. Publicity must not, however, be limited to the broad concepts, but must aim at drawing attention to specific individual programmes. For a variety of reasons, .Mr. Cp&pra continued, the start of a project did not have great news impact. If, however, the news media c:Ould be persuaded to acquire M•xwtq an interest in the development of the project, it might be possible for them to produce a good story while the project was still in progress, and thus focus interest on its outcome. He also suggested that regional U.N. information offices should atte~pt to relate such projects to similar programmes being attempted in other countries of the region. Mr. Max fully supported Mr. Bevens' views. In the case of campaigns in the developed countries, he stressed the need to make people aware of what was being done for leas fortunate countries, if possible on a specific project basis. Mr. Alexei Adzhubei began by thanking the U.N. for inviting him to the roundtable and apologising for his absence from the earlier sessions due to illness. The people of the Soviet Union, he said, realised the importance of the work being done by EC.A.FE and supported its high ideals. Every country, wha~ever its political system, must find ways to help solve the problems of hunger, health and edu9ation in the underdeveloped countires. Newspaper men in particular, he saidljl should lead the effort to find solutions to these problems. Mr. Adzhubei said that in his view the existence of underdeveloped countries sprang from centuries of colonial rule, and he felt that the ex- . colonial powers -35-

should give back some of the riches they had ta.ken from the underdeveloped areas. At present, he said, the Soviet Union was itself in need of food, but it was paying for it from its gold reserves. He remembered the thirties when he was a young man living in Central Asia. A dreadful famine had occurred there, and he would always feel -grateful to the poeple of the United S• ates for the food they had sent at that t i me . Moreover, s a i d Mr . Adz L1bei , no peop _Ji e were i n capable of development, given t he neces sary knowledge and a little help. Referring to the problem of disarmament, he said that the Soviet Union deplored. the assassination of President Kennedy, who was a man of peace and who, given time, might have solved all disarmament problems, even that of the atom bomb. _Modern weapons such as missiles or mom,bers cost their weight in gold, he declared, and if only these instruments of destruction could be outlawed the money saved could be spent on pro~ects such as those being under­ taken by ECAFE to assist the countries of the region. Mr. Adzhubei went on to sa;t that over the years the United Nations had grovm considerably, and now had over 100 members and was engaged in a number of new projects such as the A~ian Institute for Economic ~evelopment and Planning. Modern scientists, he declared, found it difficult to keep up8 ii~h the material being produced in their own field of specialization, so it was no wonder that neither the general public nor the news media representatiges could digest the vast a.\)ount of documentation produced by the U.N. He suggested that a system of producing information notes on all technical papers (a procedure that was followed in the Sovief Union) might prove of value, with ECAFE providing such notes for the use of newsmen. r. Adzhubei concluded by assuring all participants and U. N. officials that the U.NL news received in Moscow would get a full, frank and friendly reception in the Soviet press. Mr. J! Fox,Director of the International Labour Organization's Liaison Office wit h EC.AFE, said that the question before the meeting was how to getbetter" coverage of UN social and economic news, both quantmtatively and qualitatively. lie agreed with Mr. Chopra that emphasis must be placed.on topical, local and if possible personalized stories. 'I'b.e U.N. OPI, he said, had local officers whose function was to ;p%ll]llall bring the available raw material to the attention of information media. The stories were there, he pointed out; why were they not used? Mr. Fox noted that frequently local news stories were rejected in favour of items supplied by world news agencies, even when the lofal story had much greater significance. He cited the example of newspapers in India devoting space to 14 deaths from cholera in Hong Kong.when in India itself a cholera epidemic had -36-

avcounted for 1200 deaths during the same period. Mr. Soetojo announced that Radio Republik Indonesia was planning to produce a series of special rural broadcasts devoted to raising the standards of health, .il agriculture and nutrition among the rural pop~lation. ~e would be grateful for any material which the specialized agencies could give him to assist in this enterprise. Mr. Chaiyong made a plea for more personal contact between U.N. information offiders and the working press. Personal brief ings, he said, were preferable to abstradt handouts. The attention of newsmen should also be directed to projects which wefe still in progress, since it was often too late to publicize a project once it had beeh completed. Mr. Lee made two suggestions to FAO and WHO on the preparation of publicity material connected with the Freedom-From-Humger Campaign. When a story was published on malnutrition due to ignorance or superstition. attention should be drawn to other countries in which similar conditions prevail. He recalled an instance of malnutrition in t~e Congo being the res~lt of customs still prevalent in his own country, Malaysia, and he had used this story with telling effect. An unbalanced diet in Malaysia could sometimes be traced to the custom of allowing children to select their own food from the common dish. Mr Lee felt that this custom was widespread in the area and that FAO and WHO could make use of such common situations to publicize the problems and solutions on a wider basis within the region. Mr. Sommerlad (UNESCO)spoke of UNESCO's contributions to the Development Decade an~ of its support for the work of the other specialized agencies. UNESCO's programme, he pointed out, aimed at an investment in human resources as an essential factor in the development of natural resources and capital. The first ••••wti: need was for an informed public, and UNESCO's progragime of education for the Development Decade aimed not only to eradicate illiteracy but also to produce the scientists and technologists needed to chart their countries' progress. Mr. Sommerlad went on to describe the mass media as 11multij.:i.ers of effort" in a national development programme. This they could do not only by disseminating facts, but also by multiplying sca%!8 resources suc!his~itcR!rs and agricultural advisers by making their work known to a larger audience than could otherwise be reached. Radio and television, he said, were part icularly useful in maintainitjg high standards of education through school broadcasts, and in providing specialiscJ.. b -37-

instruction when teachers were scarce. All forms of mass media could be used for adult education, said Mr. Sommerlad. Newspapers could play a useful role in adult education and literacy campaigns, since they served to stimulate the regular reading habits without which illiteracy might return. A free exchange of news was essential to human development, JUti:Ji Mr. Sommerlad concluded, and if the goals of the Development Decade were to be reached the support of mass media must be enlisted to extend the boundaries of education, facilitate the flow of ideas, and speed up the process of development. Prinie Prem suggested that fulle~ use could be made of the National Commissi:ns establishe~ to support the work of such agencies as FAO, UNESCO etc. For the first time, leaders of all the mass media were brought together in one group in Thailand, as members of the National Commission for UNESCO. Each month they met to discuss their common problems, and in February 1964 the first nationwide mass communications meeting was to be held in .Bangkok. OPI might. make an effort to exploit the facilities offered by these national commissions. Mrl Cheng stated that with regard to the Freedom-From-Hunger Campaign the need was for a scientific and technical approach and what Mr. Sommerlad -0alled an investment in human resources. The~ best way to do this would be to supplement edµcation by use of mass media. In addition, basic social and economic feforms were indispensable, for the farmer must learn to work harder and more efficiently. In Taiwan, said Mr. Cheng , a successful!. land reform programme had been carried out by giving the farmer greater incentives to increase production. It might be worth while undertaking a study of some of these reforms from the economic and social point of view. Sir Charles Moses suggested that WHO, FAO and ECAFE discuss with the Australian Broadcasting Commission and NEI( possibili·ti·es for greater radio and television publicity for their work. He noted that the Asian Broadcasting Union was meeting in Sydney in November 1964. Mr. J.N. Corry, Regional Representative of the U. N. Technical Assiatnce Board and Diremtor of U.N. Special Fund Programmes· in the Far East, described the functions of resident representatig,s of TAB in h 1 · e ping governments to obtain the maximum benefits fr~m technical assistance programmes. Th news mei~a . e prwxx cou play a vital role in both developed and developing countries said Mr. Corry and b • . regylar , , Y giving space to the economic and social activities of the U.N. they could complement national efforv.iand contribute to the overall development of the country. He was impressed with the cali"bre · · , vision and experience of the e -38-

roundtable participants, which seemed to contrast so vividly with the amateurishness of most of the reporters he had hitherto met. He wondered whether the general calibre of reporjers at U. N. conferences was an indication of the importance the news media editors attached to these activities. Mr. Davis agreed with the "excellent point" made by Mr . Corry. On the one hand, he said, it was very difficult to persuade a news editor to assign a first­ rate reporter toc~i~rkind of programmes that had been discussed here. On the other, in glancing through a,!ist of TAB and Special Fund projects, he never failed to come across a good potential story. The problem was to find a good reporter to cover it. He suggested that newspapers consider sending reporters to neighbouring countries to cover projects in those areas. Mr . G. Pawloff, Regional Off icer for Asia and the Far East f or the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that I AEA sought to acclerate and enlarge the contribution of nuclear energy to peace and prosperity throughout thebworld. IAEA provided assistance to a great many developing countries, in cooperation with the various United Nations organs and specialized agencias. In Asia, for example, IAEA worked closely with ECAFE on the development of radioisotope techniques for use in agri­ culture and hydrology, as well as in conducting studies of power sources, It also assisted national and regional nuclear research projects. Mr. C. Mackenzie, Public Relations Officer of the International Telecommunications Union, pointed out that ITU, the oldest of intergovernmental organizations, was the symbol of enduring interna tional cooperation at the ~ level. It was not always realized, he said, that telecommunications were essential for the growth of any economy, and that MmiwpE't i f the Development Decade was to achieve its aims telecommunications must be carried forward at the same rate of growt~ as other sectors of the economy. Meteorological forecasts, movement of aircraft, the spread of culture and educations all these dep ended on effective telecommunications. The ITU, said Mr. Mackenzie, was concerned with the search for better standards of equipment and operation. He gave a brief outl ine of its activities i n the ECAFE region. In thi s seemi ngly dry and arid material, he said, there was good journalistic potential. Drama also existed in stories of the disasters which occurred when tele­ communications broke down . Telecommunications was the nerve centre for the mass media, he concluded. -39-

Mr. Zarnegar recalled that the overall aim of the Development Decade was to raise national income by 5%• In India, however, it looked as if the increase would not exceed 2 1/2 %. Would it not be possible, he asked, to use more nuclear energy to exploit the existing resources and raise national income? Mr. Pawloff said that t his was a question which frequently arose. Nuclear energy was certainly a factor in economic development, and could contribute to progress by helping to cut down weete and increase production, as in the use of radioisotope techniques for the production of rice. Mr. Dumbleton was of the opinion that the full benefits of modern tele­ communications could only be enjoyed if the :cxa:rg•• facilities were made available to the general public at more reasonable charges. Mr. Mackenzie explained that the tariffs were set by the member administrations. They were the lowest feasible, and were worked out on a cost-sharing basis among countries through which the system passed. Mr. Brian Jones, Acting Regi.onal Director of 1.JNICEF, said that special attention should be -given to the needs of children, who were the citizens of future development decades. Although total UNICEF aid amounted tonlore than 34 million dollars a year, said Mr. Jones, it was the catalytic effect of UNICEF aid that was important, for it generated cooperation out of all proportion to the original sum expended. UNICEF had supplied that "little extra" to governments without which many child wel:fare programmes would have died. In social ser vice programmes, UNICEF provided training to supplement the work of technical assistance experts. Mr. Jones explained that agencies such as UNICEF could not aff ord a large public information/ staff. Though inf ormation media were most oopperative, there was still a large public which UNICEF had not been able to reach. In donor countries it wished to enlist support; in receiving countries it wished to publish information which would make the aid more effective. The UNICEF representative expressed his appreciation of two constructive suggestions recently advanced by the paDticipants1 Mr. Davis' suggestion that reporters should be assigned to cover projects in neighbouring countries, and Sir C~arles Moses' proposal to place UNI CEF on the agenda of the Sydney meeting of the Asian Broadcasters' Union. ,- _ ,,...

-40-

Mr. P. Armour, South-East Asia representative of the International Civil Aviation Organization, said that ICAO was contributing to the Development Decade by working towards the establishment of safe and regular civil aviation. Like other U.Nl agencies, ICAO had very limited resources fmr public infor­ mation. Its information activities were directed first to t hose concerned with aviation and secondly to the general public. There had been no difficulty in finding access to the technical press, though this existed in only a limited number of countries. The public information field presented greater problems, and the ICAO Council was debating whether to expand ICAO's activities in this field. Hence the deliberations of the Roundtable would be of special interest to the Cbuncii. Mr. Obhrai gave a brief outline of the :ma::rltxil U.N. Conference on the Appli­ cation of Science and Technology for the benefit of less-developed areas. This meeting, he said, had been an exercise in compiling an encyclopaedia of information, for OPI had borne sole responsibility for making the fact of the conference and its conclusions known to news media and the world at large. One of the aims of the conference had been to gather as much information as was available for the benefit of the less~developed areas. All this had placed a heavy burden of respon- . best sibility on the OPI, which would be gratef ul t o hear the editors' views a s to how t o proceed to the post- conference stage in which the theme of the andfitscon erence conclusions could be publicized for many years to come. that Mr. Obhrai explained 1lbmt broadly the conference had been digided into 12 main disciplines, Its breadth encompassed the whole range of human knowledge, and indeed the criticism had been voiced that the conference attempted to cover too much ground in too short a time. Intensive preparation had, however, gone into arrangements for the conference. Its proceedings would be summarised in eight volumes, of which the first would be ready in a few days, and would contain the substance of the conference in broad outline, while the remaining seven volumes woul d examine the subject in greater depth. The OPI, continued Mr. Obhrai, was faced with the task of maintaining public interest in the work of the conference. Its information aspects would be . treated in different ways for developed ~nd developing countries. In the former, the task was that of keeping institutions, foundations, universities etc. interested in the pos sibility of developing technology for poorer areas. In the developing two-thirds of the world the task would seem to be that of creating a receptivity to science and technology. - -:-41- 0n yet another level, OPI had the task of making knowledge of the conference available to government officials themselves. Secondly, it must harness their support and maintain their interest. And at the broadest level, the work of the conference must be popularized for the man in the street and the paady fields. Before it could be given to him, it must first be digested and assimilated, because of its highly technifal nature. On the substantive side, Mr. Obhrai explained that the Economic and Social Council would appoint . a fifteen-mamber advisor) committee composed of scientific and technical experts, which would meet periodically to review the progress made in the application¢ of the information gathered by the conference. This advisory committee, which would hold its first meeting in Paris next June, would, he said, provide a springboard for the development of feature material on the conference. He concluded by saying that the economic and social unit of OPI would be happy to receive any suggestion as to how OPI could help the redisse{jinators in following up this. important conference. Dr. Tavares de Sa said that the human dimension needed to be added to the content of the conference. The role of scientists and technologists must be dramatized and public information media would be rendering the world a service by giving them they the prestige and publicity :m needed and deserved.

Saturday November 30, Mornihg Dr. Tavares de Sa stated that at this final session each particiapant would be asked to sum up his impressions and recommendations. The U.N. representatives ~XBXIJI% attending the roundtablewmtt also ai~ffl~ie%o make a brief roundup statement, after which Mr. Obhrai would make a final summihg up on behalf of OPI. First, however, he wished to invite U Nyun to address the roundtable. U Nyun felt that the memlldtable had tackled a number of important problems in a spirit of fonstructive analysis and cooperation. The success of this round­ table, coming on the heels of the one held last year in Geneva, led him to believe that every world-wide conference should havearegional follow-up. U Nyun appealed to the ~eaders of public opinion to support the U.N. efforts to bringb the latest a.nd best de~elopment techniques to Asia in the shortest possible time. Representatives of mass media in advanced countries could help by arousing the interest of their governments in development programmes. In the developing countries, they could exploit established traditions and social- customs in order to persuade people to accept progress instead of resisting change. Passing in brief review some of the principal regional projects sponsored by ECAFE, (e.g. the surveying of border areas; the joint development of industries -42- and the promotion of tourism :it!! •he %C!iea) U Nyun stressed the fact that all ECAFE decisions were adopted unanimbusly in a spirit of harmony achieved by discussions in which basic areas of common interest were defined. He promised to increase the flow of information on ECAFE activities, and hoped that the ~would in return cooperate with ECAFE by giving these act~vities the widest possible coverage. Mr. Zarnegar said that he had learnt a great ,1 deal about U.N. activities at the roundtable. This had led him to wonde~ why U.N. social and economic news had not made a greater journalistic impact, and what could be done to help the U.N. put its message across. He felt it was up to the local UN representative . to establish a bridgehead with local journalists so as to arouse their interest. He myst also relate UN general information to local conditions. On the other hand, the local press should learn to handle news of this nature and make an effort, as had been suggested, to treat with greater respect news of scientific and technical developments. Mr. Thip felt that the mttJ[g roundtable had provided a useful opportunity for the participants and the UN staff members to clarify their views and reach a common understanding. Such mee t ings should be held annually, he suggested. Mr. Soetojo agreed with the view that all regional pro)ects should be given local appeal. He recommended the organization of more radio and television tours, sinca this was the most ef fective medium for reaching the Asian peopie• In addition, he advocated the distribution affilms and recordings for use by national organi­ zations in preparing their own programmes. His country would do all in its power, he said, to cooperatewith the OPI. n Mr. Singh hoped the OPI would take due note of the various suggestions advanced in the course of the discussions. A special effort should be made, he added, to supply material specially tailored to the needs of developing countries like Nepal. Mr. Quereshi considered that the roundtable had accomplished the purpose for which it had been convened. The UN Information Centr e in Pakistan had been more active recently, but the whole OPI operation should be reviewed, in his estimation. Though now he had a better understanding of the OPI mandate, he still felt that a disproportionate amount of money was being spent on fadio and television at the expense of the press, and he suggested a reappraisal of the budget to giva more support for the press in developing countries. Repeating his previous suggestion that the training of economic writers be undertaken by means of scholarships, seminars or the prmvision of teachers, Mr. ,_

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Quereshi also stressed the need for more personal cooperation between U. N. inf ormation officers and the working press. He recommended further that the economic and social unit of OPI be expanded so as to enable it to provide material of local interest to each member country. Mr. Quereshi concluded with a restatement of the need for underdeveloped countries to pool their resources in order to obtain coverage of UN conferences. 6orrespondents of national news agencies shluuld be accredited to the UN on an international basis, and steps should be taken to obtain a U. N. press cable rate. Prince Prem welcomed U Nyun's promise of ~ 1~d quicker coverage of ECAFE activities. He adavanced the proposal that participants at the roundtable constitute

~ panel of honorary consultants to OPI and ECAFE on information problems. Be explained that his previous suggestion for the recruitment ~r7~fig~ on specialized subjects did not imply that they should write under the OPI banner, but for independent distribution on the basis of stimuli provided by the OPI. Fuller use should be made of national commissions for FAO, UNESCO etcl where they existed, since these bodies could hemp to publicize U.Nl activities. Next February, Prince Prem announced, there would be a meeting of 125 leaders of mass media in Thailand, and he suggested that ECAFE might usefully sponsor similar gatherings throughout the region. The establishment of training schools for d: economic and social writers might be undertaken as a regional project. Mr. Mackenzie referred to Mr. Quereshi's suggestion for a special UN press rate as an excellent idea, which mi ght stand some chance of success in view of the fact that all ITU's member nations cooperat ed closely with the U. N. He would present the proposal to ITU on his return, and if approved the next step might be a resolution by the ~enefal Assembly, after which the matter would be submitted to the next ITU Conference in 1965 or 1966. Sir Charles Moses wondered whether the editors were not being asked to do the work of the secretariat by providing a summary of the meeting. To him the principal success of the roundtable lay in the fact that he had been able to draw up plans, in coopeI· ation with NEK, for the production of a major documentary feature on t he Asian Highway, and he hoped that t his would be only the first of many such joint productions. This programme would receive world-wide distribution and would reach millions of people with the significance of the project. Sir Charles suggested that "Mass Media Leaders' Roundtable" would be better than the present timle, which made no mention of radio and television. He hoped tha:t OPI would maintain the flow of short interesting features for radio and TV. - 44-

A brief interchange of views ensued between Dr. Tavares de Sa and Sir Charles Moses as to the definition of the word "Editor". Dr. Tavares explained that the term had been chosen to convey the highest level of professional and policy~making authority, while Sir Charles maintained that in broadcasting the term did not denote a high-ranking official. He still felt that broadcas ting had only been given second place in the roundtable. Prince Prem made the observation that in some countries an editor is the one who goes to gaol if anything goes wrong. Mr. Max said that all the participants would carry away with them an impression of the importance of EC.AFE and such projects as the MeKong scheme, and they would never lose their .interest in the progress of this work. This proved the value of personal contact, and he recommended that t his should be stressed at all levels. Wherever they were, OPI officers should make a point of getting to know local leaders personall~ and influencing them. So much of the work was highly specialized and technical in character that individual interpretation was needed, and this the U.N. information officer could provide by responding to and developing indi­ vidual leads. He felt that greater use could be made of visual aids, not obly for general distribution, but for the briefing of editors at the national level. His final recommendation was f or a budget redistribution within OPI to allow for increased decentralization and thus more personal contact in mhe field. Mr. Maeda supported all that Sir Charles had said and was happy to cooperate on the Asian Highway film. He hoped it might also be possible to make a documentary on the Mekong scheme. He recommended that OPI consider the importance of the "local approach", and suggested the foP mation of a regional news agency to meet the requirements of editors on a basis of local cooperative financing. Mr. Milwertz said that at this point he would like to mention the role of WHO in the Mekong Scheme, which it had assisted by making a survey of the health hazards and outlining the precautions to be taken before the work began. Mr. Adzhubei agreed on the importance of private meetings and personal contacts. Asia was changing fast, and he for his part would do his utmost to present the problems and progress of Asian countries to the Russian people by means of press, radio and TV, and would follow future developments with interest. Part icipants at the roundtable, said Mrl Adzhubei, represented varying poli­ tical backgrounds, but they were united by their concern for such problems as peac~, social progress and the well-being of mankind. He himself would be very pleased if, as Dr. Tavares had suggested, this link which had beeh formed could be maintained through officlal and personal correspondence. He would see that the report of the -45-

Roundtable was made available through the U~ion of Soviet Press Correspondents. Mr . Adzhubem also proposed the establishment of a U. N. press accreditation s~id shoul d card for correspondents covering UN meetings, and/that this 1P'IIJTlbl give them facilities in the question of obtaining visas as wei1 as the right of access to 1'1.c. Sovie.t LL'>\io-vt tt4...I -l,u11 h-n kuit to~ .ttue"/; t-,,1 -th(.. ll,.,;,.te..J sttt.il,s th.-,w/1.& -r~&e-c,.,,,,, S4ttlt.:tz news and other privilegesAt;;.he roundtable should not end here, he urged, but its work should be carried on through continued contacts between the participants. He promised that the Soviet Union would try to give all possible facilities to newsmen for exchange of articles, no matter what their political affiliation. In conclusion, he hoped that more such exchanges of views could be organized, for they were conducive to improved relations and this in turn would ulitmately lead to the betterment of mankind. Mr . Lee Siew Yee remarked that in many ways this r oundt able had been preaching to the converted, for in his country at least the importance of the Development Decade was fully recognized, and the publi c shaed great inter e st in national development projects. News of economic and social development ~ given great ­ prominence in the Malaysian press, and indeed, his request , unlike that of maby of his colleagues, would be for more material, not less. The value of the roundtable to the Asian members, said Mr . Lee, had been the fact that they had been given an opp~rtunity to discuss mutual problems and to get a fuller appreciation of the U.N. and its activities in the c~ of the Development Decade. Mr. Kushkaki felt that the roundtable had impressed upon the editors the need for more news on the U. N. 's social and economic activities . They shoul d feel it their bounden duty to promote the ideals of the Charter, and he urged them to promote a nationwide campaign in their own countries to achieve this goal. Since only a small segment of the press in the ECAFE region was repre sented at the round­ table, he suggested that its conclusions be passed on to other segments of the press, perhaps by the convening of a national meeting of mass media. He himself i ntended to convene such a meeting upon his return to Afghanistan. Secondly, said Mr. Kushkaki, the OPI operation should be strengthened i n each country of the region. Several countries had no U. N. Inf o:i:mation Centre, and though he was aware of the financial difficulties, he felt that at least one person should be appointed in each country to handle the information programme. In .Aghanistan, he added, the Technical Assistance Board was doing a magnificent job, but he felt that not only the UN's successes but also its failures should be made knowin. The OPI information officer should have a nationwide distrib•~ion system to the country's press, instead of, as at present, enjoying access to only one fourth -46- of the press in the city in which the Information Centre was lofated. Moreover, the U.N. Information Officer should travel widely throughout the country, and should do a better job of disseminating information on all the specialized agencies equally. Mr . Kushkaki feet that U.N. Radio should be strengthened and its reception improved. He supported Mr . Maeda 's prjposal for a ~.N. News Agency, to which radio and television organizations could also su~scribe. Dr. Tavares de Sa took the floor to explain that budgetary restrictions had prevented the opening of more U.N. Information Centres. Though the process had been accelerated, they were still only half-way to the goal of one information fentre for every member state. In recent month$ new centres had been opened in developing areas in Asia, Africa and Latin Amer ica, where they were needed most. One of the proplems had been the reluctance of some countries to offer rent-free premises to OPI, and he hoped that the editors might exercise gentle persuasion in this domain. Iltt. Graham saw the value of the roundtable as being two-fold. In the first place, it had thrown the spotlight on ECAFE , OPI and the Specialized Agencies, ana on what could be done to highlight their activities. Secondly, there had been the p4rsonal con~act both within and outside the meeting-room. U Nyun had referred to regional building projects in which each should work for all and all for each. The only difficulty there, he said, had been in finding the straw for building the bricks. If the OPI could get the information to the news media speedily and suoointly, it would reap rich dividends. At present there was too little news, and it reached them tool late. Mr. Graham suggested that ECAFE surveys should be summarized under country headings instead of subject headings. OPI should attempt to produce more material in vernacular languages. U.N. Information Centres should be centrally located, unlike the one in Colombo, and if properly utilized, they could be very influential in creating a "U.Nt consciousness", which could be further developed by periodic visits of U.N. officials to the countries of the region. Such visitors, unfortunate ly, frequented aroused hostility by refusing to talk to reporters. Mr. Dumbleton stated that he came from a country which while geographically remote from some of theproblems discussed was by no means remo;e in its sympathy and desire to help. The meeting had been most stimulating, he said, and had given him at least an insight into the "stupendous tasks" facing OPI. In fiew of the vast difference between large and small newspapers and those in oountryies with different degrees of development, there was an obvious need for a variety of information material. -47-

Mr. Dumgleton supported the views of Mr. Max and other speakers on the need for more personal contact with U.N. Information Officers. In the absence of a separate information centre for New Zealand, he said, more frequent visits should be made by the information officem located in Syd.Dey. The results woNffieilitworth their while. Mr. Davis quoted Archy the Cockroach to the effect that you should never think when you write because you cannot do two things at the same time and do them well. One problem that arose was the fact that certain subjects such as the work of ILO, UNICEF and UNESCO, tifiJi~t!r!Ythe purview of a general-purp~se reporter. Other stories, such as those dealing with-ICAO, IAEA and WHO, were highly techmical, yet presented elements of utmost interesto He felt strongly that wherever possible broadcasting chains and newspapers should assign a science editor or correspondent to cover thesestories. He had followed this approach in his own paper, using "science" in the broadest sense of the word. There was no doftbt, said Mr . Davis, that ail the participants would leave the roundtable deeply committed to the task of informing the public of U.N.'s economi6 and social activities. The problem arose because on the one hand there were excellent stories which . the UN could not package and hand over in the form in which they would be acceptable, and on the otherhand the pr4ss often lacked the initiative or the capacity to get the stories and use them. What was required was the technique of progressive educations the indirect approach or "soft sell", and a change in emphasis on the part of OPI. Mr. Davis suggested that the report of the roundtable be prepared in such a way that the specific proposals advanced could be listed under separate headings and sub-headings. Such a report might highlight practical sugges­ tions for bridging this gap which existed between the excellent material available and a too passive press. Mr. Chopra was of the view that the meeting had produced more intangibles than specific results. The personal contact with peopme and problems had been most useful, and he therefore endorsed Mr. Adzhubei's suggestion that it be maintained and strengthened. This roundtable, he felt , had beem more productive than the Gemeva one, since it had had the stimulus of regional pressures. His own concrete proposals could be summed up as follows• 1. 'fhe system of hiring independent writers to present individual projects should be extended. Only an independent writer could combine the interesting with the significant, the universal with the local. He agreed with Prince Prem that such a writer should not work under the UN banner, nor should he be so completely detached that he established no contact at all. The OPI should maintain a .list of those who were sympathetic and competent, and draw upon them as necessary. -50- Mr. Thip had proposed that roundtables of this kind be convened annually. One was bsing planned for Latin America, and would be held in Mexico early next year, and there was a possibility that another could be held in Asia before too long. Mr. Obhrai was glad to note that Mr. Soetojo had felt that the Asian radio project, with which he himself had been closely associated, had achieved its purpose. A similar tour had been made in Africa recently, and a project along the same lines would soon be undertaken in Bangkok. Mr. ,Singh1 s request for more information services to underdeveloped regions was a valid one, said Mr. Obhrai, and the OPI was conscious of its responsibility in this regard. It was in the countries with the least KRYRMJLXRK developed information media, Mr. Obhrai pointed out, that OPI cbuld be of greatest service, but conversely it could operate most effectively in countries with highly developed information media. With the generous cooperation of the Nepalese Government, a U.N. Information Centre would soon be opened in Kathmandu, he added. Mr. Obhrai promised to take up at headquarters the points made by Mr. Quereshi, especially the one conferning a special U.N. press rate. This would require the intervention of the General Assembly, he explained, but he felt that the idea stood a fair chance of bei5g accepted. As to the question of the t raining of journalists, this did not come within the domain of OPI but within that of UNESCO. However, OPI had undertaken work of a parallel nat ure in the "triangular fellowship programme" he had mentioned earlier, designed. to help young writers gain access to U.Nl economic and social news. He was happy, said Mr. Obhrai, to have had Prince Pram's clarification of his suggestion that OPI maintain a roster of competent writers on special subjects. This was a most useful idea which had not been too successful in the past because the . writers had been engaged under U.Nl auspices and had thus acquired t he "UN stamp "• Sir Ch11rlest announcement of the decision to roduoe a documentary on t he Asian H1iRiajo/ffta~81~ito~it!8~ ~t~ftlljz.fri~~al was an example of just the sort of concrete results they had hoped to achieve at the roundtable. OPI would examine ways in which it might assist the project. The OPI was in complete agreement ~~th Mr. Max, continued Mr. Obhrai, on the importance of per sonal contact. This had always been one of the cornerstones of OPI's policy, though it was aware that not all information centres implemented it to the same degree. Mr. Maeda had referred to the very interest ihg possibili ty of setting up a -51- U.N. news agency. Mr. Obhrai replied that he would look forward to further examination of the possibility, within the political and financial mandate of the OPI. Mr. Adzhubei had mentioned Ii.he new direct telecommunication link between the United States and the Soviet Union. OPI also had plans, said Mr. Obhrai, for the wider use of satellites to disseminate radio and gisual material. This massive breakthrough had opened up immense possibilities, and IDll was now able to televise the proceedings in the (.i eneral Assembly for the TV screens of Europe. The Secretary- General was taking a personal interest in these developments. Mr. Obhrai agreed with Mr. Lee that the soil was fertile in many parts of the region, and receptive to UN information and ideas. OPI was aware of the need to step up its activities in the region. It was equally important, he said, to keep alive the interest of domor countries in technical assistance projects, and to remind them that to participate in these programmes was an act of self-interest and not of charity. Mr. Kushkaki had advanced the very useful suggestion that press meetings be convened on a national level. The OPI, said Mr. Obhrai, would be happy to consider making the report of the roundtable available to the entire press of the region. He promised that he would report back to headquarters Mr. Graham's comments concerning the inadequacy of the U.N. Information Centre in Ceylon. A full-time professional information officer would soon be assigned to the Colombo centre, he added. The points raised by Mr. Dumbleton had for some time preoccupied OPI, said Mr. Obhrai. As he had said before, OPI had a dual mandates to assist national media and to initiate programmes of its own . This latter activity was mainly carried out by the Radio and Visual Servi~es Division, which prepared programmes for direct transmission over national networks, thus helping to build the "UN image" and project its voice. {!he Press and Publications Division, said Mr . Obhrai, produced a momthly magazine entitled "The UN Review". But attempts to reach the public directly had not been too successful because of the necessity to present above all a fac••a1 account of UN activities. As of April 1964, however, OPI planned to produce a new monthly magazine called the "UN Chronicle", aimed at the redisseminator. It would have three sectionsa first, a reportorial account of U.N. activities, under the headingsapolitical, social and economic, legal, budgetary and trustee~tr~f,1feature articles by those in a position to express an opinion, i.e. those on a policy- making level or the tyje of writer suggested by Prince Prem; and thirdly, a listing of all important meetings and the documents connected with them. -52- This magazine, Mr. Obhrai continued, would serve news media throughout the world by supplying a constant flow of UN news without the accompanying burden of overwhelming documentation. He hoped that the participants in the roundtable would subscribe to the new magazine, which had been designed to cater to needs like theirs. Centres Mr. Chopra's point regarding the need for the InformationLto tailor the documents they issued was also present in the thinking of OPI, though sometimes manpower limitations prevented adequate implementation of the policy. One of the primary tasks of an information centre, said Mr. Obhrai, was to Jeep local editors informed of items of potential interest to them. As for Mr. Fox's query, Mr. Obhrai reported that there was massive evidence that~hg~ritEiesOPI had established an information centre, more news about the U.N. reached the general public. Dr. Tavares said he wished only to add a few points to Mr. Obhrai's clear expose of the OPI position. One point which had not been mentioned was the forth­ coming 15th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on December 16. He hoped the elitors would mark this anniversary and take steps to publicize the full text of the Declaration of Human Rights. Radio stations throughout the world had been asked to broadcast the full text of the Declaration. The OPI, said UN's Yiil'iiii*tfiiP°for Public Information, wished to follow.up the work of the roundtable. The budget for next year had already veen approved, and the third rounttable would be held in Latin America in a matter of weeks. The fact that it was scheduled to be held just after the Asian roundtable and before the World Trade Conference would contribute to the cumulative effct of these exchanges. OPI wished to maintain a continuity between the roundtables by means of personal contact, so . as to create a sense of partnership in the UN's social and economic adtivities, as well as one of continuing personal involvement. Dr. Tavares concluded his statement and ck•xxmll!ll[ brought the roundtable to V a close with a thought from the U.N. Secretary-General, U Thant, who had expressed the view that more serns than political or ideological differences was the danger crea ted by the widening gap b~tween rich countries and poor countries. This round­ table, said Dr. Tavares de Sa, had. made a small but valid contribution to narrowing the gap in this Development Decade. In that sense it was in tune with the broadest and noblest purposes of the United Nations. BIOORAPHICAL NO'J'F.S OF PARTICIPANTS IN ASIAN EDITORS 1 ROUNDTABLE

BANGKOK, NOVEMBER 25-30, 1963

Au.EN EIMARD BEVENS

Allen Edward Bevens., 37., was educated privately at the London School of Eeonam.cs. He ha.s been :in charge of the Overseas Affairs Section, Reference Division, Office of Info:nna.tion since 1960. He is partj.cul.arly interested in the problems of develcrp:ing cmmtries; and 1n 1961 ma.de a study tour f West Africa and the Congo Renublic.

JOSE IDNA CASTRO

J se uma Castr• bas been Managing Editor f the Manila 'J!imes since 1959. He was educated in Philippine public seheGls and took his graduate courses in Journalism at Syracuse University., New York., where he obtained his M.A. degree in 1952. He began his career in journalism in 19.38 as a magazine writer and tor two years during the Japanese occupation of Manila was associate editor of the Philippine Review. a moothly opinioo magazine.

In 1945., he joined the staff of the Manila T.ime!, then newly organized in the wake of World War II. He also was for many years editorial writer of The Times.

Mr. Castro covered the United Nations for his paper in 1950-51 and 1955; the caiference on Indonesia in New Delhi in 1949; the Berlin situation shortly after the raising of the Wall in 1961, etc. He taught journalism and Southeast Asian affairs in a Philippine university for six years lllltil 1959. He is the author of two books., the latest of which is The Manila Times Journalism Manual, now the standard journalism textbook in Philippine universities. He actively participated as a lecturer in the Southeast Asian editors seminar under the auspices of the International Press Institut.e in Manila in 1962 and in similar in-service training projects of the National Press Club of the Philippines.

CHAIYONG CHAVALIT

Mr. Chai.yang Chavalit, 44, graduated from Chulalongkom University. He held a position in Thailandtu Ministry of Industry for sane yea.rs before joining the Thai Commercial Publishin Company Limited as a photographer. Later., he became editor of Siam Nikom Pictorial Magazine, and 11 years ago assumed the post of Managing Director of the Thai Commercial Publishing Canpa.ny, which owns two dailies and two weeklies. He is al.so editor of Pim Thai and a columnist. PRAN CHOPRA Pran Chopra, 42, is Resident Editor of the Statesman, New Delhi, which he joined in 1959. He started his career with newspapers in 1941, when he joined the Civil and Military Ga.zetteof Iahore. But in 1944 he moved to radio Lfournaliem. He was successively News Editor, War Correspondent, Radio Newsreel Editor, Parliamentary Comnentator and Chief News Editor with All India Radio. For a time he worked with United Nations Radio as Guest Gommentator for India.

SAVILLE R. DAVIS

Saville R. Dav.is would prefer to be recorded as a reporter but has spent a larger part of his career as sub-editor and news editor. He graduated from Williams College (U.S.A..) in 1930 and took a Master's degree in business administration at the Hlva.rd Bftsiness School in 19.32. With this improbable backgrotmd he joined the newspaper for which he has since worked, at the bottan of the great depression when the ~ surplus commodity was news. Since thEll he has served in almost all the departments of the news process: copy boy, cu'b reporter, national and foreign correspondent, sub­ editor, news and •~ging editor, lecturer and radio-TV news commentator, etc. Having now, he hopes, finished with administration he has returned to writing and reporting as editor of the Editorial Page, in charge of the editorial policy of the pa.per. I.f asked l,y" what title he would prefer to be known, he recalls the adv.ice of his editor-in-chief when he was a cue: "There is only one title any man worth his salt would want: that of reporter."

E.V. DUMBLETON

E.V. Dumbleton is the Editor-in-Chief of the Auckland Star, New Zealand1a largest evening newspaper. He is also a director of New Zealand Newspaper Ltd., publishers of the Auckland Star, the Christ-church star, the New Zea.land Wanen•s Weekly, and the New Zealand Farmer. He is a director (and formerly chairman) of the New Zealand Press Associa:M.on, which is a partner of Reuter. In addition he is chairman of the New Zealand National Comnittee or the International Press Institute, and an executive member of the New Zealand section of the Canmonwealth Press Union.

SAHAHUDDlN KUSHKAKI

Sahahuddin Kushkaki, 30, worked after graduation as a reporter for one year in Kabul and then went to the U.S.A. to study journalism. He receivecfl3.A. and professional certificate in journalism from the University of Nebraska and then continued his studies at the graduate school of journalism at Syracuse, New York, where he received an M.A. degree.

Returned home in 1958, Mr. Kishkaki served one year in the internal publicity department of the Ministry of Press and Information. In 1959 he became Assistant Editor of the morning daily ISLAH and the same year became Editor. Mr. Kushkaki also served as Editor of the evening newspaper ~ and later as news director of Radio Afghanistan. In 1961 he became Vice-President of Bakhtar News Agency and also started the first English daily in Afghanistan. In 1963 he became President of Bakhtar News. -3-

IEE SIEW YEE

Lee Siew Yee, 41+, is Editor of the Straits Times, Malaysia, and deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Straits Tillles group of publications. He has held t his post since 1956. Before this appointmen:t, Lee was Assistant Editor of the Straits Times. Previously he wa.s Editor of the Singapore Free Press (1950-1952). Between 1936 and 1950 Lee worked on the Penang Gazette, the Straits Echo, the Times of Ma.la.ya, and the Singapore bureau of the Associated Press of America.

ALFRED Mil

Alfred Max, 50, obtained the degrees of Diploma de l'Ecole des Sciences Politique, and licence en droit, as well as a Ph.D. from the American University, Washington, D.C. He worked as Secretary, League of Nations Technical Aid to China Comnittee in 1953 and as Staff Writer for the International Institute of Intellectural Cooperation, 1934-36.

Mr. Max was a French News Agency correspondent from 1936-1940. During ilorld War II, he served as a bomber pilot in the Free French Forces. He has een the editor of Realites magazine since its inception in 1947; Editor, Connaiasance des Arts, Entreprise and !2E; f'ollllder and co-director of the French Institute of Public Opinion (French Gallup poll) and the French Institute for Market Research.

He is the author ot 'the Foreign Policy of the United States (Centre d'Et.udes de Politique Etranglre), Paris 1939. Bleu R.A.F. (JuhJiarti) Paris 1949.

sm CHARI.ES MOOES, C.B.E. Sir Charles Moses has been the General Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Oomnission since November 1., 1935.

Since his appointment he has seen his staff grow fran 380 to 4,000 and the number of stations transmitting ABC programmes from 14 medium wave radio stations to 57 medium wave, 8 internal shortwave. and 5 extemal shortwave radio stations and 15 television statims. The ABC activities for which he has either aeen personally responsible or had directly encouraged or supervised include the ABC independent news service, school broadcasting, farm. broadcasting, the establishment of six permanent orchestras, the establishment of ABC offices in six overseas centres., membership of the Asian Broadcasting Union, of the Conmanwealth Broadcasting Conference and of the British Commonwealth Intemational Newstilm Agency ( 11Visnews 11 ), television, etc.

His extra-mural activities include or have included: aader of the Australian delegation to the 1952 General Conference in Paria; Chairman of the Arts Committees of the Australian Jubilee Celebrations of 1952; Collll.cillor of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales; Trustee and Joint Founder of the Remembrance Driveway Trust; follllder-member of the Sydney Opera House Trust; President of the Amateur Athletic Associatim of New South Wales; President of the Ruguy Union Club, etc., etc.

He represented the State of Victoria {capital Melboume) in Rugby Union, A.thletics and Boxing. Hobbies include fine music, walking and wood.chopping. Sir Charles graduated. from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1918 and served as a lieutenant in the British Regular A.rrq 1918-22; he was a fruit­ grower 1n Australia from 1922-24; Salesman & Sales Manager in the motor business 1924-30. He entered broadcasting in 1930, working successively as ·.Announcer, Sports Coomentator, Controller of Talks and School Broadcasts, Federal Liaison Officer and then General Manager.

PRINCE PREM PURACHATRA

Prince Prem Puracha.tra, 48, was educated in '?bail.and and England where he obtained his M.A. (Ron.). fran Oxford University.

As educator, writer, publisher and jouma.list, Prince Prem is Professor of English language and Literature at Chulalongkom University in Bangkok. He is also President of the P.E.N. Glub and Vice-President of the Sia.a Society. In additicn he holds the positicn of Chairman for Mass Communicaticn, 1n Thailand' a Naticnal Coomissianr for · UNESCO. He is author of a number of 'books, and the weekly magazine "The Standard"' is one of his publications.

A.K. QUERESHI

A.K. Quereshi, 46, was a Reuterta war correspondent 1n Italy in World War II. He also worked in Reuter rs Central Office 1n London, 'before he took up an appointment with the North-West Frontier Government as Director of Infoma.tian in the autumn of 1946. In Pakistan he has held several public relatiais posts, including assignments with the Prime Minister and the President as their PRO on foreign tours, in 1948-l9 and 1957 respectively. He also visited the United States 1n 1951.

From 1957 to 1959 Mr. Q,uereshi was Secreta17 of the Informaticn Department of the Government of West Pakistan. 'then he was moved to the Central Ministry of Information, where he handled the implementation of the Press Camdssion Report and other subjects connected with the growth of the national press. He joined the Associated Press of Pakistan in June 1961 as Administrator.

NARAYAN BAHADURE SINGH

Narqan Bahadure Singh, 32, ie F.ditor of the Gorakhapatra, Nepalese language daily newspaper in Kathmandu.

He joined the newspaper in 1959 as a sub-editor, and was promoted to the post of an editor in 1961.

Mr. Singh was educated in Banaras Hindu University, Ba.naras, India, and holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts from this university. He is a regular contributor to other Nepalese publicatiais.