Media & Entertainment Skills Council, the apex level sector skill council for media and entertainment sector organized ‘National Media Conclave’ between 21-23 November. NMC 2021 became the Eastern India’s Biggest literary and academic extravaganza. This conclave looked at the soaring emergence of media and entertainment industry. The power of responsible media communication to cope with challenges such as implementing of NEP 2020 was also one of the focal points of discussion at the conclave.
Day 1: The inaugural session of the National Media Conclave was inaugurated by Honorable Union Education Minister Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, honored by the presence of profound delegates like Shri. Subhash Ghai (Renowned Film maker and Chairman, MESC), Shri. Bhartruhari Mahtab (Honorable member of Lok Sabha & Editor, Prajatantra), Prof. D. P. Singh (Chairman, UGC New Delhi), Dr. Sudhir Gavhane (Former Chancellor, YCMOU & MCMU Maharashtra) along with Vice-Chancellors, Academicians, research scholars, media professionals, and Communicators to discuss various facets of media & entertainment academia & industry.
Prof. Upendra Padhi delivered the welcome address to the esteemed panelists of the conclave. He further shed light on the topic of the conclave “NEP 2020: Media & Digital technology” and how it would lead not just the students but teacher also towards a brighter future.
Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister, thanked all the members for participating in the National Media Conclave. He paid his tribute to Mr. Harekrushna Mahatab Ji on his Jayanti and praised him for his great contribution in the education system and the Odisha State. He shared his views on how technology has made it easy to communicate all around the world. He added that there is a need to discuss the environmental and economic issues also. The conclave will emphasize on the power of NEP 2020 and Media & Digital Technology.
Media & Entertainment Skills Council is proud to be associated with National Media Conclave as a collaborative partner. During the inaugural ceremony, Shri. Subhash Ghai (Chairman, MESC) appreciated the constructive suggestions of the fellow panelists. He added that there is a need to add skill education in the NEP module. There is a need for concrete program for Skilling, reskilling and upskilling. He continued that there is a need for a research team too that will be updated with the latest technology developments. He emphasized on Training of the trainers for their professional development and to make them well equipped. He concluded by saying that students should be taught how to look beyond obvious to promote the innovative thinking.
This is a unique event of this kind. In this event, a national level virtual Meet and Expo was organized, which emphasized on the significance behind the NEP 2020, its relevance in education industry, technological and policy interventions to improve the quality of education and the life of the students, prospects, etc. The event throws light on implementation and development activities of Media & Entertainment space of the country. This program brings together academicians, researchers, delegates, entrepreneurs, and eminent industry experts to discuss about the improvement in education sector to make it competitive at global level and augmenting self-reliance (Atmanirbharta).
Day 2: On 22nd November 2021, Monday, the hosts extended a warm welcome to all the panelists. The Chairperson of the session, Prof. G. Ravindran (Prof. & Head, Dept. of Media & Communication, Central University of Tamil Nadu) extended his hearty thanks & congratulations to IMS for the recurring opportunity to be a part of NMC. Secondly, Prof. Manukonda Rabindranath (Prof., Centre for Media Studies) shared his views on the provisional media skills with special reference to artificial intelligence in media industry, social media, automated journalism, and news broadcasting.
In a Plenary Session, Shri. Mohit Soni (CEO, Media & Entertainment Skills Council) shared his remarks on IMS and NMC. He started off what inspired him to join the Media & Entertainment industry and how COVID has made everyone a major media consumer. Further, Mr. Soni discussed the impactful pointers on “Need for Skilling, Reskilling, Upskilling and Professional Media Skills”, he added “Skilling, Reskilling and Upskilling is nothing but the journey of life”. He also mentioned, how gratifying it is to see that 1400+ institutions (Colleges & Universities) are offering courses in media and entertainment.
Mr. Mohit Soni mentioned the three major concerns of present education system that MESC has discovered after the deep-dive research mentioned below:
- Upgradation of curriculum, change in teaching methodologies, and addition of new age skills with the evolution of technology.
- Infrastructure which can be developed easily.
- Trainers that can nurture the students.
Mr. Soni added incredibly interesting pointers on the aspirant journey and the reason they join the M&E sector is because of “interest” and, also because of the huge potential of the industry. He also mentioned the utmost importance of upskilling. He also talked about MESC’s projects like Manthan and how impressive the success of the event was only because of the participation of the Universities who believe in the conceptualization of skill-based education. Lastly, he mentioned the significance of multi-skilling.
Day 3: The final day, 23rd November 2021, Tuesday, of the event focused on “Community Media, Civil Society & Social Empowerment”. The Chairperson of the event was Prof. Vinod Pavarala (Sr. Prof. Dept. of Communication & UNESCO Chair on Community Media, University of Hyderabad). He spoke about the history of community radio and how it is connected to civil society. Mr. Mohd. Sahid Ullah (Prof. Dept. of Communication & Journalism, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh), Dr. Sudhamshu Dahal (Prof. & Head Dept. of Languages & Mass Comm., School of Arts, Kathmandu University), Dr. Kanchan K. Malik (Prof. Dept. of Communication, Faculty Fellow, UNESCO Chair on Community Media, University of Hyderabad), Mr. N. A. Shah Ansari (National Advisor, Community Radio Association & Chairperson, Namaskar Community Radio Network & President, Young India), Shri. P. Sainath (Acclaimed Journalist & Founding Editor of PARI), Prof. Sunil Kanta Behera and, Prof. Sudhir Gavhane were the eminent speakers at the event. Mr. Manoranjan Panda shared the vote of thanks of the three-day National Media Conclave. He also shared heartfelt gratitude to the thoughts & ideals that became a part of this conclave. He also confirmed that the next edition of National Media Conclave will be happening next year
