Li Congjun, president of China's Xinhua News Agency and executive chairman of the World Media Summit, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on Oct. 9, 2009. The two-day summit, hosted by Xinhua News Agency, opened here Friday morning. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Xinhua News Agency and other world-known media will launch a 24-hour global media coverage on Nov. 20, the Universal Children's Day, to raise attention to the healthy growth of children, Xinhua President Li Congjun announced Friday.

    The project is aimed at promoting global attention to the livelihood of children around the world and helping them grow more healthily, Li said at the World Media Summit in Beijing.

    The media should better fulfill their social responsibilities and missions to improve public welfare, he said.

    About 9.7 million children died in 2006 before their fifth birthday, mostly from diseases that could be prevented with simple measures. More than half of the deaths were caused by malnutrition, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

    About 42.5 million children are not accessible to clean water, and 1.5 million children under five die each year due to the lack of clean water and basic hygiene facilities. About 2.5 million under 15 have been infected with HIV/AIDS.

    The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated about 188 million children between five and 14 are working in rural areas with poor conditions, dangerous factories and mines. More than 300,000 children are forced to fight in wars.

    In the past 10 years, armed conflicts killed two million children and left another six million severely injured or disabled.

World Media Summit held in Beijing

The World Media Summit hosted by Xinhua News Agency opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on Oct. 9, 2009. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- About 300 representatives from more than 170 media outlets from around the globe gathered in Beijing Friday to discuss the seismic shifts and challenges in the industry at the World Media Summit (WMS).

    The opening ceremony of the summit was held at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, and Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered a keynote speech. Full story

Xinhua president stresses media's social responsibility amid challenges

    BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The world's media must always adhere to their social responsibility and the role in improving public welfare despite challenges from the financial crisis and information technologies, president of Xinhua News Agency Li Congjun said Friday. Full story

China's Xinhua president: media organizations to tap opportunities through co-op

    BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's Xinhua president Li Congjun said here Thursday it is the trend for media organizations to tap opportunities through cooperation in order to expand development.

    Li made the remarks when meeting with BBC Global News Director Richard Sambrook who is in Beijing for the media event scheduled on Oct. 8-10. Full story

Xinhua President: World Media Summit to help global media explore ways of survival

    BEIJING, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming World Media Summit under the theme of "Cooperation, Action, Win-Win and Development" is in an effort to explore ways of survival and development for the global media industry, said Li Congjun, President of Xinhua News Agency here on Wednesday.

    Xinhua and eight other renowned media organizations including News Corporation, AP, Reuters, ITAR-TASS, Kyodo News, BBC, Turner Broadcasting System and Google Inc. will jointly launch the World Media Summit on Oct. 8-10. Full story

Quotable Quotes: Media heavyweights comment on World Media Summit

    BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Media gurus and heavyweights from around the world have gathered to offer their thoughts and theories at the World Media Summit, to help sharpen the insight of mass communication practitioners the world over.

    The following are some comments by media leaders on the topics that are going to be discussed at the summit which is held in Bejing on Oct. 8-10, including on how the media industry should maneuver to meet and make use of the advent and advancement of the digital era. Full story