Friday 24 / October / 2025
Moscow: The 17th Russian World Assembly opened in Moscow on October 20, bringing together delegates from over 100 countries to discuss the role of Russian civilisation in global development.
The forum, organised by the Russkiy Mir Foundation with TV BRICS as the international media partner, featured meetings, panel discussions, and cultural programmes, including a performance at the P. I. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.
During a discussion, Leonardo Sobreira from Brazil 247, said: “The dominant voices in international media, concentrated in the West, have framed global narratives, choosing what is visible and marginalizing the perspectives of nations outside their sphere, impacting politics, trade, and security.
“Representing nearly half of humanity and extraordinary diversity, BRICS nations should internationalise media spaces to tell stories that reflect their richness, challenge stereotypes, and provide balance, not replacing one monopoly with another but expanding the spectrum of voices.”
He said that BRICS should foster joint media initiatives, leverage technologies like AI and digital platforms to break linguistic barriers, and build trust through credible, transparent journalism to create authentic narratives that inspire cooperation and peace.
Wang Delu from China Media Group, said: “What is the “Russian world” from the point of view of the Chinese media? The “Russian World” is one of the most important components of world culture. Russian culture is distinguished by its historical origin and development process. Russia has made and is making a significant contribution to the development of humanity and provides unique solutions to global issues.”
Chinese Media Corporation in cooperation with the Russian media – 20 years ago, began to implement cultural events with Russian colleagues, starting with a car rally “Beijing - Moscow” and ending with the Forum of Humanitarian Cooperation in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory in World War II, he explained.
He said that a perfect mechanism for cooperation between the Chinese and Russian media is currently in operation. “The Media Council of the Russian-Chinese Committee for Friendship, Peace and Development is working. A number of cooperation documents have been signed between the media of the two countries. The results of the collaboration are the documentary “The Power of Siberia", the multimedia project “Hello, China” and “Hello, Russia”, etc,” he concluded.
Natalia Lebedeva, Head of the ‘Gateway to Russia’ project said: "It’s a multilingual information and service portal, a central hub for both compatriots and foreigners. The portal provides the opportunity to learn Russian more effectively and efficiently, learn more about Russia's history and culture, as well as obtain information about citizenship, education and moving to the country, she said, adding the portal solves the problem of the lack of high-quality, structured and modern materials about Russia for foreigners.”
Mohamed Gozzi, Editor-in-Chief of the English version of Sada El Balad (Egypt), added new media connects people across borders, fostering dialogue, mutual respect, and cooperation.
“It builds trust through transparency, rapid access to reliable information, and active citizen participation. Despite challenges like fake news and unequal access, societies must guide new media toward constructive dialogue and a shared future.”
Meanwhile, Victoria Tapfumani Ruzvidzo from ‘The Herald’, Zimbabwe, said: “A unified BRICS media space empowers BRICS countries to tell their own stories, countering the dominance of Western media outlets and creating a more balanced global narrative. Deepening dialogue through joint reporting projects, content-sharing, and newsroom exchanges among BRICS journalists fosters mutual understanding, celebrates linguistic diversity, and builds trust through collaboration.”
She said that leveraging technology, such as AI-powered translation and a BRICS digital news exchange, enables real-time sharing of verified stories and development-focused narratives, highlighting progress in areas like renewable energy and innovation.
Another speaker Marzieh Zaeri Irani from IRIB, Iran, said: “Social networks foster national unity and empathy during crises, as seen in the Iran-Israel conflict, by enabling rapid information dissemination and solidarity around symbols like the Iranian flag.”
New media’s interactive nature allows users to actively create and share content, building trust and social cohesion, while false information and polarization pose significant threats, she added.
“Celebrities, athletes, and media activists on social platforms played a key role in reinforcing Iranian national unity, disseminating safety guidelines, and countering rumors during the conflict,” she emphasised.
Jorge Luis Bermudez Cruz, CEO of Canal Caribe (Cuba), emphasized that for 65 years, Prensa Latina has resisted censorship and disinformation, providing an alternative narrative to hegemonic agendas, promoting truth and social justice globally.
“Media serves as a bridge for dialogue and peace, fostering cooperation and mutual understanding in a digitally interconnected world, countering hate speech and disinformation, she said, adding cooperation between agencies, content exchange, joint training, and the creation of shared platforms like the ‘Voices of the Global South’ platform launched by Prensa Latina last year are concrete examples of how media professionalism can advance this mission of building a more just and equitable global order.
Ali Muhammad Ali from NAN, Nigeria, said the free flow of information via digital technologies democratises knowledge, fostering collaboration, innovation, and economic growth. “The digital divide, marked by limited internet access and infrastructure, marginalizes developing countries, particularly in Africa, from global information exchange. Addressing “epistemic injustice” requires inclusive strategies, such as investing in digital infrastructure and challenging dominant power structures to create an equitable global information ecosystem,” he added.
Denis Rogatyuk from El Ciudadano, Chile, said: “The 2016 US election highlighted the irony of alleged foreign interference being a fabrication, while real interference by social media favoring certain candidates was ignored. El Ciudadano exposed fake news laboratories in Santiago during the 2022 Chilean Constitutional Referendum, producing viral videos to counter false information.”
He added that Redmedial.com, a project by El Ciudadano, aims to unite 1,000 independent media organizations globally to promote counter-hegemonic narratives and strengthen the Global South.
