SIGNIS ASIA ASSEMBLY 2025: STATEMENT
SIGNIS ASIA ASSEMBLY 2025: STATEMENT
‘Whispers of Hope: Communicating Peace, Building Futures’
Deeply touched by the call of Pope Francis on the World Communications Day, around 75 media professionals from 11 member countries of SIGNIS Asia, which is part of the World Catholic Association for Communication, gathered for the opening at the Manila Prince Hotel, Manila and at St. Paul Center for Renewal (SPCR) in Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines, from 21-24, October 2025, and reflected and discerned on the theme.
We have witnessed the painful reality of Asia where many lives are being lost due to war and conflicts, sufferings of children due to hunger and poverty, young people getting addicted to social media with irrelevant, sexual and violent content, and fake news.
We realise the urgent need of multiplying our strength to join the like-minded to bring about an attitudinal and behavioural change among the people towards the usage of media and produce more value based programmes and motivate people to get engaged in purposeful media activities.
We realise the potential of Artificial Intelligence as the new industrial revolution, thus we are called to be missionaries of hope in this new media landscape.
Pope Francis emphasizes ‘Gentle Communication’ that disarms aggression and fosters dialogue. He wants us to spread the news of hope and build peace in our communities. He calls us to be humble and loving, patient and truthful. He invites us to share stories of kindness and unity.
Following Pope’s call, we believe in sharing testimonials, and building relationships with people, while remaining universal, transparent and service oriented and thus whispering hope. We realise that ‘Sharing Stories’ is the foundation, and ‘Effective Listening’ is the lifeline for all our communicating efforts.
We believe that media education enlightens the mindset and enables individuals to become well-informed and critical consumers of media content, fostering responsible human relations and empowering society to grow in truth, understanding and compassion.
We believe in embracing Christian values which empowers us to be the voice of the voiceless to bring about equality in the society.
We believe in communication with gentleness, fostering unity in diversity and serving the common good through all forms of media such as Mass media, Group media, Folk media and Social media.
We pledge to be discerning decision makers in addressing new media challenges, and engage in media production to whisper the needs of the people especially the weaker sections of the society.
Inspired and motivated by the shared experiences during our discussions, we resolve to focus more on dialogue over proclamation, and working together interdependently building connections with messages of peace, harmony and trust.
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24th October 2025 – (419 words) Proposed by: Fr. Norbert; Seconded by Mr. Bastiyan
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About SAA2025: https://www.signisasia.net/saa2025/
Press Release: https://www.signisasia.net/signis-philippines-all-set-for-saa-2025/
Theme Song SAA2025: https://www.signisasia.net/signis-asia-assembly-2025-launches-theme-song-whispers-of-hope/