Global South International Communications Conference（2023/05）
In the 1970s, as part of the process to establish a Non-Aligned Movement’s New International Economic Order (NIEO), the Global South states along with UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) attempted by establish a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO). This attempt was destroyed by the rise of neoliberal hegemony during the 1980s. The wave of neoliberal globalization accelerated due to the Third World debt crisis and the demise of the Soviet Union. The West established a ‘rules-based international order’ to mask its neo-colonial structures and its imperialist actions. Samir Amin argued that the neo-colonial structure was built on ‘five controls’: control over finance, control over natural resources, control over science and technology, control over weapons of mass destruction, and control over information.
Today, although some of these monopolies have loosened, the unequal structure of information and communication has not only remained unchanged but have also become more severe.
We note that the dominant theoretical paradigm on information production and communication worldwide remains Western-centric, and the Global South’s academia and media lack mechanisms to generate ideas and a framework beyond the Western-centric perspective.
We note the prevalence of the neo-colonial structures, in particular in the space of the media, which is controlled by the West. This media is unable to articulate the challenges faced by the world’s people or to effectively communicate and discuss feasible development strategies, in particular for the Global South.
We note that the US imperialists and their allies weaponize the media, launching information wars against countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. If the Global South tries to put on the agenda peace and development, they are answered by the West with war and debt. In the hands of the Western media monopolies, the communications order is not used to promote world peace but to exacerbate human division and the risk of war.
We note that the US imperialists and their allies use media hegemony to distort the beautiful concepts of democracy, freedom, and human rights. On the one hand, they attack other countries under the pretext of democracy, freedom, and human rights, while on the other hand, they remain silent about their own trampling of democracy, deprivation of freedom, and violations of human rights.
We note that digital technologies such as the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence, which should serve human welfare, are used by a few Western content giants and monopoly platforms to dominate the production and dissemination of information and to block voices that differ from their claims.
Given these circumstances, we believe that intellectuals and communication professionals from and sympathetic to the Global South should revive the spirit of the 1955 Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement (established in 1961), should respond to the Global Civilization Initiative (2023), and should establishing international solidarity through communication theory and practice.
We believe that intellectuals from and sympathetic to the Global South should promote the theoretical synthesis and academic production of the Global South’s history and development, actively engage in academic exchanges and collaboration, and form a communication narrative theory system from the Global South’s perspective.
We believe that progressive media from and sympathetic to the Global South should form a distributed and diversified content production and dissemination network, share content and media experiences, and establish an international communication united front against new imperialism and neocolonialism to advocate for peace and development.
We believe that the Global South International Communication Forum should be held annually to build a diverse and multilateral network and platform for dialogue and exchange among intellectuals and communication professionals. This network and platform will serve as a basis for various forms of collaboration with governments, universities, think tanks, media, and other institutions in various forms.
The historical mission of a New World Information and Communication Order has not been completed or ended. Anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism are still the consensus of the new Non-Aligned Movement. Let us work together, based on this foundation, to promote the construction of a 21st-century New World Order of Information and Communication to benefit humanity.
