Impact Journalism project sparks debate on media's role in tackling challengesThe terrorist hostage drama in Nairobi was unfolding.迷利倉James, our new friend from Kenya, was recounting how his President had addressed the shocked nation, assuring them that he would get on top of the situation. Meanwhile, pockets of resistance remained inside the mall."People are still dying," he said forlornly.Perhaps to ease the tension, Emily jumped in. She too had a story to tell. A French national, she had lived in Beirut for 15 years, starting off as a correspondent and rising to become an editor at a local newspaper. Over the past few months, she has been reporting on the influx of Syrian refugees into the Lebanese capital, fleeing the fighting in their country.The conversation flowed as we shared stories from our respective countries.Our group comprised editors from around the world. Each of our newspapers had been invited to take part in the first global Impact Journalism Day, held in June. We met at the end of last month in the mayor's office in Le Havre, a port city about 200km from Paris, to review the project.Among the 22 newspapers that joined in were well-known ones such as Le Monde in France, La Stampa in Italy, Politiken in Denmark, Excelsior in Mexico, the Daily Nation in Kenya, Caixin in China, the Times of India, and yes, The Straits Times. Each had published a special supplement showcasing individuals and ideas helping to address challenges the world faces.Among the stories published was one on the Socket Ball, a power-generating football invented by two Harvard students which stores energy when kicked about. A 30-minute game produces enough energy to light up a lamp for three hours, bringing light to communities without electricity.Another idea was a Hippo drum, a rotating 90-litre plastic drum, which women could roll on the ground when fetching water from distant wells, a daily chore for many, rather than having to bear the load on their shoulders or heads.Then, there was Focusspecs, the nifty adjustable glasses which help address the problem of myopia in poor countries. They have lenses that can be moved along frames by turning a dial. This brings better vision to places where people do not have ready access to ophthalmologists.The Straits Times published these stories in a 12-page supplement as well as on our website on June 22, along with our partners. In all, these supplements reached 50 million people in 20 countries.One reader based in Singapore, who works for a global lens manufacturer, chanced upon the ST supplement. After reading the article on Focusspecs, he e-mailed the Impact Journalism team to ask to meet Focus on Vision, the non-profit organisation which designs, makes and distributes the glasses. A meeting has been set up in the Netherlands."So in this way, the story in The Straits Times made an impact," said Mr Christian de Boisredon, the founder of Sparknews, the social enterprise that conceived and spearheaded the Impact Journalism project.His audience broke into applause. He was speaking at the Le Havre Forum, a mini-Davos-style conference held annually in the city, and attended by business and community leaders from around the world. Our group of editors had been invited to attend and share our experience.The three-day event saw many thoughtful discussions on how to foster a "positive economy", meaning one where businesses and governments focus on critical, long-term, global priorities such as safeguarding the environment, and the well-being of future generations, rather than being driven by more immediate pressures and concerns.American Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz delivered a speech lambasting world leaders for not having done enough to reform the global economy after the fiscal meltdown of 2009. They had failed to rein in the banks and prod businesses to think long-term, he charged."Yes, we h自存倉ve done some things to improve financial markets, but far short of what is needed," he declared. "An economy with 25 per cent of workers unemployed, as in Greece and Spain, is still in depression."Other speakers, such as French economist Jacques Attali, took up issues such as the pressing need to tackle global warming, urging the editors in our group to "put this story on your front pages", when we met over lunch.After a long day of such lofty conferencing, we needed some air. So my fellow editors and I set off on a long walk along the river, on a lovely late-summer evening. As we strolled, we swopped thoughts, before settling down to some French food and wine.Can we really make an impact, or much of a difference, someone asked.Were calls for long-term thinking not just so much pie in the sky? Could any business leader or politician today afford to think long-term, when there are profits and polls to worry about? Did such Panglossian best-of-all-possible-worlds ideas stand a chance in an age when cynicism is cool, negativity reigns since naysayers tend to shout the loudest, and self-appointed vigilantes seem to be everywhere?On the contrary, someone countered, can we afford not to think "positively"? After all, for example, the dire accounts we had heard of what climate change might look like by the middle of this century were really only a few decades away, when today's teenagers would be in the prime of their lives, pointed out one of our circle, who has a young daughter.What's the role of the media in all of this? How can journalists contribute to addressing the world's challenges, from rising unemployment and a widening income gap, to resentment over immigration and growing right-wing nativism in so many of our societies?Like all good journalists, we were instinctively sceptical. Few of us laboured under any grand delusion that we wielded as much power to shape agendas and influence minds as some often imagine. Most people are capable of making up their own minds.But neither did we think that the future of journalism was as bleak as others suggest. Most of us were confident that there would always be a demand for good journalism, premised on quality and credibility, regardless of how communications technology might change.Indeed, I was surprised by how much we agreed on, given what a disparate group we were, drawn from developed and developing countries, being of different nationalities and cultures, speaking various languages, and ranging in age from 30 to 60. It was also the first time we had met. Yet, we shared many experiences and concerns.From the relentless pressures from assorted newsmakers - both government officials and corporate chiefs - ever ready to clamour, coax and cajole for the best spin on their stories; to the seemingly inexorable drift of younger readers to digital media; and how rapid changes in technology were reshaping all our lives, in ways that few could predict.And yes, every one of us seemed to be grappling with the issue of online trolls."Every night, we have a civil war on my newspaper's website," Emily revealed. "The old divisions in Lebanon run deep. These groups hate each other with a vengeance. Now they fight their battles online. The worst ones are those who live abroad. They have nothing to lose if the society falls apart."Several around the room nodded knowingly, as we delved into the trials - and joys - of online engagement, as the evening wore on and the wine flowed.Later, when I recounted this discussion to an Indian friend, he sent me this rejoinder, from Mahatma Gandhi: "It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there will be any fruit. But that does not mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."warren@sph.com.sg迷你倉
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