Asian Problems

This was the background to the work of the conference—in many ways a pioneering effort in that it was the first of its kind. Because of this, it was natural that much time was taken up in investigating the situation of the student press in the various countries represented, and in formulating a number of principles, thus clearing the way for future meetings to tackle some of the more difficult problems that face the student press in Asia.

And many problems there are, for the students of Asia are vitally aware that their countries look to them for guidance, not only in the future, but, in many cases, even now. Thus the theme of the conference was "The responsibility and problems of the Asian Student Press, and its role in national development." To facilitate thorough discussion of this theme, the conference split into two commissions on the second and fifth days, each presenting a report to a plenary session in between. These reports proved very informative, and provided the basis for the various recommendations the conference as a whole was asked to adopt. The student press in each country has its own set of problems, although inasmuch as many of them are related to the larger problems besetting the young nations represented, there were similarities.

David Stone