BRICS Media Forum

In News

• Recently, leading media groups from the five BRICS countries held the first joint training programme for journalists.

About

• It is the first initiative of its kind.
• Objective:
  • To resolve the issue facing a shared challenge of how media organisations in emerging markets can innovate and stay relevant in their unique contexts.
• Topics covered: 
  • Podcasts in modern media, 
  • A conceptual framework for professional journalism, 
  • Skills for digital journalism, and 
  • The BRICS New Development Bank.

BRICS Media Forum

• Established: 
  • The Forum was established in 2015 by media organisations from the five countries, including The Hindu, Brazil’s CMA Group, Russia’s Sputnik, China’s Xinhua and South Africa’s Independent Media. 
• Objective: 
  • The Forum was conceived and developed so that it can function as an independent initiative and set of practical activities undertaken within the broad framework of BRICS cooperation.
• Vision: 
  • A shared future and a strong commitment to innovate in the media, especially digital media, and related technology fields.

BRICS

• Origin: 
  • The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in July 2006. 
  • Shortly afterwards, in September 2006, the group was formalised as BRIC during the 1st BRIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which met on the sidelines of the General Debate of the UN Assembly in New York City.
• Meetings: 
  • After a series of high level meetings, the 1st BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia on 16 June 2009.
• Renamed: 
  • The BRIC group was renamed as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) after South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in September 2010. 
  • Accordingly, South Africa attended the 3rd BRICS Summit in Sanya, China on 14 April 2011.
• Facts: 
  • BRICS is an important grouping bringing together the major emerging economies from the world, comprising:
    • 41% of the world population, 
    • 24% of the world GDP 
    • over 16% share in world trade. 
    • Total combined area of 29.3% of the total land surface of the world
  • BRICS countries have been the main engines of global economic growth over the years. 
• Issues dealt: 
  • Over a period of time, BRICS countries have come together to deliberate on important issues under the three pillars of:
    • political and security, 
    • economic and financial and 
    • cultural and people to people exchanges.
• New Development Bank:
  • During the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (Brazil) in 2014, the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB – Shanghai, China). 
  • They also signed the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement to provide short-term liquidity support to the members.
• Three pillars of intra-BRICS cooperation:

• Political and Security: It aims to enhance cooperation and dialogue on issues of global and regional security, developments in the global political space for peace, security and prosperity. The priorities under this pillar are:
  • Reform of the Multilateral System
  • Counter-Terrorism Cooperation
• Economic and Financial: It aims to promote economic growth and development for mutual prosperity through the expansion of intra-BRICS cooperation in sectors such as trade, agriculture, infrastructure, small and medium enterprises, energy and finance & banking. Recognizing the advantages of using technological and digital solutions for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in BRICS countries with a special focus on:
  • Implementation of the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy 2020-25.
  • Operationalization of the BRICS Agriculture Research Platform.
  • Cooperation on Disaster Resilience.
  • Innovation Cooperation.
  • Digital Health and Traditional Medicine.

• Cultural and People to People:   It aims to qualitatively enrich and enhance intra-BRICS people to people contacts in cultural, academic, youth, sports, business, through regular exchanges. Exchanges among Parliamentarians, young scientists etc. are also held.

Significance of BRICS

• A platform for global issues: India along with Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa actively engages on issues of global importance through BRICS. E.g.
  • Global financial and security situation, countering terrorism, climate change, sustainable development, reform of the multilateral system, reform of WTO and institutions of international governance, ways to promote Intra-BRICS cooperation including in science & technology, trade, health, information and communication technology, people-to-people exchanges.
• Drives Economic Growth: BRICS countries have been the main engines of global economic growth over the years. From inception, finance and trade have been a major area of Intra-BRICS Cooperation. 
  • The New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) are the major outcomes in this area.
• Counter-Terrorism: Counter-Terrorism Working Group in BRICS has set up subgroups to cover various aspects of countering terrorism.
  •  At the same time, BRICS has emerged as a major factor in a peaceful, prosperous and multipolar world. 
  • BRICS Leaders have been supporting India’s stand on countering terrorism and that terrorism is not acceptable in any form and manifestation. 

Challenges for BRICS

• Cooperation among Members: Whether it can manage the internal contradictions among its members while also simultaneously expanding its agenda to become a more consequential voice at the international level, will determine its success in the coming years.
• Domestic Economic Growth: The increased intra-BRICS cooperation in areas like health, science and technology, environment, finance, trade, agriculture, etc. will be difficult to sustain if the member states cannot provide the levels of domestic economic growth that ‘provides the basis for their international positions.’ 
• Containing Assertiveness of China: The rise of China and its resultant impact on the world order has raised questions about the impact of a rising power on multilateral processes.
• The negative impact of other Global Institutions: Given that BRICS countries on their own are not in a position to mount global efforts to deal with large-scale crises, paralysis at the level of other multilateral institutions negatively affects agenda formation in BRICS.
• Role of other Nations: The role of other emerging powers, their foreign policy choices in an evolving global order and response to the US-China equation will affect multilateral behaviour, including that of BRICS.

Way Ahead

• BRICS are committed to extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and oppose hegemonic bullying and zero-sum games. 
• India will receive a lot of help fromBRICS if the relations amongst the countries remain good.
• Such initiatives like the Media forum help the countries remain connected.
• Also, in the backdrop of COVID 19, digital media has gained more importance than ever

Source: TH