UN agencies in Laos improve communications with local media

United Nations Communication Group (UNCG) of Laos has reached out to make stronger contact with local media organizations in a second annual"Meet and Greet"event held in Vientiane on Tuesday. Lao journalists and media representatives were invited by the UNCG to attend the meeting with the aim of promoting increased and improved reporting on current development issues in Laos. UN Resident Coordinator Minh Pham told the meeting that"As journalists and representatives from Lao media, you play a critical role in communicating to the public the progress achieved and the challenges faced by the country, in highlighting bottle necks and critical development issues and in facilitating dialogue. " Laos, one of the least developed nations in South East Asia, is working hard to overcome obstacles on the path to sustainable development. In February this year, Laos became a full member of the World Trade Organization and has committed to reaching the Millennium Development Goals by 2014 which deal with many critical development areas such as health, education and welfare. An informal survey in the first UNCG meeting for Lao journalists indicated many journalists did not know very much about the different UN agencies working in Laos, and very few had ever initiated contact with them. "We are hoping these events will encourage more two-way communication between the journalists working in Laos and the UN agencies, and that they will help in bringing down some of the barriers that may exist in you contacting us for information,"said the present chair of the UNCG Eeva Nyyssonen in a press release Tuesday.