Asia Journalists Association Joint Communique

1. Fifty-eight journalists from 24 foreign countries and regions and Korean journalists attending the 2005 Asia Journalists Forum and Plenary Session of the Asia Journalists Association in Seoul and Jeju from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 rounded off their sessions with fresh commitments to join hands in protecting and expanding the press freedom, safety and rights of journalists.
2. They passed two resolutions, one reaffirming the key role of the media in giving proper and positive coverage of the ongoing six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear issue and another supporting Nepalese journalists in their fight for press freedom.
3. At the AJA plenary session, the journalists, after deliberating at length on the draft AJA Charter, adopt the constitution. At the same time, they also came up with several suggestions for fine-tuning the Charter, including adopting by-laws that will spell out the responsibilities and accountability of office-holderss and members as well as clarifying the membership status of journalists and media organizations.
4. The meeting endorsed the AJA President Lee Sang-Ki's appointment of two of five vic presidents, namely Kang Seok-jae of Korea and Ivan Lim Sin Chin of Singapore.
5. In a show of confidence in the new organization, delegates from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kirgistan, Israel, South Africa, Austria, and Switzerland, which taking part in the forum for the first time, agreed to formally join AJA as members. The representatives of several national media associations also agreed to join AJA, pending approval by their respective national associations.
6. Acting on the Charter's provisions, AJA will be appointing chairmen to head committees on Safety and Solidarity, Membership and Discipline, International Exchange and Networking, Professional Development and Projects, and New Media.
7. AJA will work out programs with member countries, including training of Mongolian journalists, and general assistance to journalists in Cambodia, Nepal and South Africa.
8. As part of publicizing its collective identity, AJA will be organizing contests for the AJA logo and the AJA song.
9. In an effort to highlight journalists' mission in furthering the cause of peace, it was decided that AJA will look into presenting Peace Awards in addition to organizing workshops on Peace Journalism.
10. AJA delegates pledges to work with the Journalists Association of Korea to convene the Asia Journalists Forum in 2006 and supports JAK's initiative to host the 2007 Congress of the International Federation of Journalists in Seoul.