Nepal’s Law and Justice Minister Sobita Gautam on Monday inaugurated the 3rd International Indigenous Language Journalism Conference 2026 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The four-day conference is being held at Rastriya Sabha Griha, with Education and Science Minister Dasmit Pokharel attending the programme as the special guest, reads a press release.
Presided over by Lucky Chaudhary, president of the Federation of Nepal Indigenous Journalists (FONIJ), the conference was addressed, among others, by Nripendra Lal Shrestha, president of Newar Journalists, and Md Abdur Rahman, secretary general of the SAARC Journalist Forum Central Committee.
The main theme of this year’s conference is “Indigenous Language Journalism for Cultural Diversity, Climate Justice, and Inclusive Democracy.”
A large number of delegates from 26 South Asian countries took part in the programme and actively participated in two crucial technical sessions held on Monday.
Discussions focused mainly on the rights of indigenous people and government policies in this regard.
Speakers at the second session discussed issues relating to the status of Indigenous Language Journalism in Nepal.
Delegates exchanged views on international experiences, the UN’s “International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032)”, global challenges and achievements, the role of Nepal’s Language Commission, and legal frameworks for news media.
A high-profile delegation from Bangladesh is participating in the international event. Led by Md Ziaur Rahman, special correspondent of Dainik Aajkal, the delegation includes Mushtaq Ahmed Mubarki, editor of Dainik Bongobani; Mohammad Moniruzzaman, editor of Dainik Bank Bima; Md Abu Bakar Siddique, senior correspondent of Dainik Aajker Provat; Panna Zaman, executive editor of Dainik Amar Bangla; Shahnaz Begum, representative of Channel-S Television Online; and Irfan Uddin Iro, reporter of Asian TV.
Three faculty members from the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Atish Dipankar University of Science and Technology—Zubair Ahmed, coordinator; Keya Bose; and Farhad Alam—also joined the conference with the Bangladesh delegation.
The day’s programme concluded with the screening of a special documentary on the plight of a journalist for being honest and uncompromised.
The documentary was produced by Farhad Alam, lecturer of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Atish Dipankar University of Science and Technology in Dhaka. The documentary was highly appreciated by the audience.
