Leaders of faith communities and faith-based organizations have an important role to play in developing a peaceful, inclusive and tolerant society and media coverage of faith issues should reflect the role faith groups have in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
These observations were made by a panel of experts at a roundtable on ‘Faith, the media and sustainable development’ held on Wednesday at The Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka.
Center for Communication Action Bangladesh (C-CAB), in collaboration with the World Faiths Development Dialogue at Georgetown University, USA, organized the roundtable to discuss interfaith and international development issues, and provide recommendations on how the news media can better cover the role of faith in achieving the SDGs, according to a press release.
The roundtable was attended by academics, journalists, religious leaders and youth peacebuilders.
Introducing and expanding on the theme of the roundtable, moderator of the event and executive director of C-CAB, Syed Zain Al-Mahmood, said, “Religion is a major cultural, social, political, and economic factor and understanding religious dynamics and the role of faith communities and actors is crucial for sustainable development. Yet, media tends to underreport this area because it is deemed sensitive.” He also added, “It is crucial to have diversity in the newsroom for accurate and balanced coverage.”
Katherine Marshall, executive director of World Faiths Development Dialogue and senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, said, “It is important to understand the complex role faith plays in development. Much more work is needed at the intersection of religion and development”.
Professor Dr. Abdul Kader Khan, head of the department of Arabic, University of Dhaka, said, “Tolerance must be increased among the religious groups.” He recommended that “media should cover authentic news with proper sourcing to avoid violence between different religious groups.”
Jude W Genillo, Professor, Media Studies and Journalism, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh recommended: “Newsrooms must have journalists who specialize in religion-based news coverage.”
Dr. Father. Tapan Camilus De Rozario, Associate Professor, Department of World Religions and Culture, University of Dhaka, said, “Media should publish accurate news on faith-based issues.” He added, “Journalists should have religious literacy.”
Karim Waheed, Digital Editor of United News of Bangladesh (UNB), said, “Media has an obvious responsibility when it comes to accurate news coverage. At the same time, readers and viewers need to understand the difference between fact-checked, credible news and baseless rumors on social media.”
Ananda Mostafa, Assistant News Editor, Dhaka Tribune said, “Mainstream news outlets try to report accurately for the sake of their reputation. But there is also pressure to publish news quickly because of the 24-hour news cycle, which sometimes leads to mistakes.”
Center for Communication Action Bangladesh uses media and strategic communication tools to improve access to timely, accurate, and actionable information with the ultimate aim of empowering communities and helping to achieve sustainable development goals.
WFDD is a not-for-profit based at Georgetown University working at the intersection of religion and global development.