By; Mupiri Matthias
CHINA, JIANGSU PROVINCE, June 5 – On May 21, 2023, at approximately 2:20 PM, 13 journalists from various Namibian media houses, including the Namibian, New Era, Confidante, Namibia Daily News, Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA), and Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), boarded an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 for a seven-day study tour in the Peoples Republic of China, Nanjing Province.
The study tour, organized by the Chinese embassy in Namibia in collaboration with the Chinese Foreign Affairs, aimed to strengthen the relationship between the two countries while also exchanging knowledge in the media industry and engaging in ways that the two countries could benefit from technological, agricultural, and cultural innovation.
The flight landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport where the journalist met up with Li Youzi, a First-Level Principal Staff Member of the Europe-Africa Division of Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office who was delegated to insuring the whole tour was a success.
The study tour began with a visit to the Suzhou Industrial Park, which opened its doors in February 1994 and served as an example of modern, open development and global collaboration. The park is positioned to serve as a hub for cutting-edge equipment manufacture and contemporary services, as well as for developing sectors like biomedicine, nanotechnology applications, and artificial intelligence (AI).
The 13 journalists then went to Suzhou Daily Press Group, Xinhua Daily Media Group, and Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation to discuss how the media sector may learn from each other’s reporting, writing, and giving fresh information to the public. The tour also looked at how media organizations may leverage the internet and technological innovation to reach consumers and ensure that news is not only timely but also accurate.
Yang Jing, Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Office, underlined how significant such trips are, as well as the fact that Namibia and the Peoples Republic of China have a very close link, which helps both countries realize the importance of culture and innovation.
Given the rate at which technology has advanced, it is critical to recognize and realize that the future of news reporting is digital. The visit to Yangzhou Economic & Technology Development Zone, Innovation Center, and Ecovacs Robotics Co., Ltd. demonstrated how technology has become the go-to source for once-daily needs and how Namibia can benefit from this innovative technology to improve its agricultural, technological, and economic sectors.
Dean Zhu, the managing director of Yangzhou Innovation Center stated that he was honored to have the opportunity to host the journalist and that it is very important for the youth to engage in innovative activities and will bring out the best in them, “I hope that this information and ideas that you have seen and learned here today can be a little change that many countries can see and hear and that innovating ideas are very important and once we successfully launch our project people from your country can come to learn more from this”, he noted. ~Namibia Daily News
