Taiwan to host WAN-IFRA’s 2023 World News Media Congress

WAN-IFRA will organise the 2023 event in partnership with United Daily News Group (UDN), one of Taiwan’s leading media and technology companies. The event will take place at Taipei’s Nangang Exhibition Center, in the newly opened Hall 2. The Grand Hyatt Taipei, located next to the world-famous landmark Taipei 101, has been selected as the official conference hotel.

The World News Media Congress is more than a conference – it  includes a host of targeted events for the communities that make up the news media business, including the World Media Leaders Summit, the World Editors Forum and the Women in News Summit.

“It is an honour for us to organise the 2023 Congress in partnership with UDN and our Taiwanese colleagues. Taiwan is a hub for the entire Asia Pacific and an ideal place for our international delegates to experience the wealth of the Asia Pacific media landscape. Taiwan’s democratic institutions have shown resilience despite growing political interference from China. To be in Taiwan in 2023 is a statement in support of democracy and a free press at a time of high international tensions. The world’s press must show its support”, said Vincent Peyrègne, WAN-IFRA CEO.

Duncan Wang, Chairman of UDN, said, “We are excited to host the 2023 World News Media Congress in Taiwan. This event has not been held in Asia since 2013 in Bangkok, and the past decade has witnessed unprecedented challenges in world politics and economics. The Congress  will be a great opportunity for media leaders to revisit Asia and reflect on new trends in quality journalism that have emerged since the outbreak of the global pandemic.”

“We look forward to seeing you in free, democratic, and beautiful Taiwan!” said Wang.

Taiwan ranked as the eighth-strongest democracy in the world last year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s new 2021 Democracy Index, and as the second strongest in Asia and Australasia, even as democracies elsewhere continue to struggle. ​​EIU rankings are based on five key metrics: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties. Taiwan has a highly digitised population of 24 million who embrace mobile technology and innovation – which has enabled the country to manage the COVID-19 pandemic exceptionally well.

For more information and regular updates, visit the event website.

The World News Media Congress is the annual meeting of news publishers, editors and owners of news media from all over the world. It is hosted in a different city each year. The 2022 Congress in Zaragoza, Spain, drew more than 1200 media professionals from 75 countries for three days of conferences, executive meetings, networking, and social events.