Arya News - The event brought together The Star’s Esther Ng, China Daily’s Haoting Lu, The Daily Star’s Mahfuz Anam, The Straits Times’ Jaime Ho, The Korea Herald’s Yang Sung-jin, and Dawn’s Zaffar Abbas to explore how cultural heritage can foster deeper cross-border connections and unite the region’s diverse nations. It also served as the launchpad for ANN’s new e-book, Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures.
MANILA – Geopolitical tensions and historical wounds may pull nations apart, but heritage can play a unifying role.
It functions not merely as a repository of the past, but as a living, dynamic tool to deepen cross-cultural respect, engage younger generations, and allow Asians to take control of their own narrative on the global stage.
This was the key message from a webinar titled “Can Heritage Bring Asia Closer,” hosted on September 8 by Asia News Network (ANN), an alliance of 20 leading news titles across the region, to mark the official launch of its inaugural e-book, Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures.
The event brought together prominent media leaders and ANN board members from across the region to explore how cultural heritage can foster deeper cross-border connections and unite the continent’s diverse nations.
The panel featured insights from Datin Paduka Esther Ng, ANN Chairperson and Chief Content Officer at Malaysia’s Star Media Group; Haoting Lu, ANN Board Representative and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of China Daily Asia Pacific; alongside ANN Board Members Mahfuz Anam (Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star, Bangladesh), Jaime Ho (Editor, The Straits Times, Singapore), Yang Sung-jin (Senior Writer and Editor, The Korea Herald, South Korea), and Zaffar Abbas (Editor, Dawn, Pakistan).
The session was moderated by Shefali Rekhi, ANN Director and Editor of Special Projects at The Straits Times.
The webinar brought to the fore the role of heritage in serving as a powerful bridge that transcends political, economic, and geographic divides. It highlighted the deep-rooted values, spiritual ties, and historical exchanges that connect Asian nations, much like siblings.
The event also highlighted how, by setting aside competing newsroom priorities to document these enduring treasures, ANN not only educates younger generations and global audiences about Asia’s collective history, but also converts cultural legacy into a vital foundation for cross-border empathy, heritage preservation, and regional unity.
27 years of Bringing Asia Closer
In her opening message, Ng framed Asia as a region where ancient heritage and ultra-modern innovation coexist, driven by rich cultural diversity, rapid technological adoption, and immense economic potential. Despite historical tensions and political challenges, she noted, its shared assets and resilient spirit position it as a powerful catalyst for global progress and unity.
Expanding on this vision, Ng emphasised that Asia remains a region brimming with stories waiting to be shared. “We have got more than half of the world’s population, but there are so many stories told about us, just not enough told by us. This is where ANN comes in,” she said.
“We are not just reporters. We dictate our own narrative, verbal discourse, because here we tell our own stories from our own backyard, with our own analysis, which is more encompassing than those written by someone from another part of the world who could only scarcely fathom what is actually going on,” she continued. “We can show the world that our differences don’t divide us.”
Reflecting on the network’s evolution since its inception in 1999, Ng highlighted how members have actively contributed to this goal through ever-deepening editorial collaboration, moving far beyond a simple exchange of news stories.
Turning to the day’s main discussion, Ng formally introduced ANN’s latest milestone: the collaborative e-book Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures, which features contributions from the network’s entire membership.
(Clockwise from top) Webinar moderator Shefali Rekhi (ANN Director and Editor of Special Projects at The Straits Times), and panellists Haoting Lu (Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of China Daily Asia Pacific), Jaime Ho (Editor, The Straits Times, Singapore), Zaffar Abbas (Editor, Dawn, Pakistan), Datin Paduka Esther Ng (ANN Chairperson and Chief Content Officer at Malaysia’s Star Media Group), Yang Sung-jin (Senior Writer and Editor, The Korea Herald, South Korea), and Mahfuz Anam (Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star, Bangladesh). PHOTO: DANIA KAMAL ARYF/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Heritage as a unifying force
Opening the panel discussion on how heritage can bring Asia closer, Anam noted that the new e-book is anchored in a dual purpose: introducing Asia’s rich heritage to the world while reacquainting local readers with their own complex histories. “So I would like to say not only that we are telling the world the richness of Asia’s cultural heritage, but we also have an obligation to tell our younger generation what we collectively represent,” he said.
Echoing Anam’s sentiments, Ho observed that heritage is already uniting the continent behind the scenes. He emphasised that Asia’s shared traditions, culinary roots, and language connections form a natural bond across borders, allowing nations to look past occasional differences and embrace a common identity.
Ho cited the Teochew diaspora as an example of a significant, unifying element across Southeast Asia.
“The Teochew population is so significant, whether in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, they all form such a big part of our cultures and I think sometimes it’s forgotten,” he said. Rather than building ties from scratch, Ho advocates for actively nurturing the ties that already exist, urging us to “do a little bit more to prod it along as much as we can.”
Even when minor regional differences arise, he maintains an optimistic outlook, believing that these exist for a reason. “Better to have differences and disagreements than to not ever speak to each other or recognise our commonalities.”
Ho used the analogy of a family sitting in the same room. “We may support different football teams; we may poke each other every now and then about whose team is better than the other. We may even support the same team and we have differing views, but at least we’re sitting in the same place.”
Building on the idea of regional kinship, Haoting pointed out that cultural identity transcends traditional geopolitical and economic boundaries. Heritage brings Asia together because “it speaks a language that politics and economics often cannot—I think that’s the most important thing,” she emphasised.
Pointing to cross-border landmarks like Cambodian temples and the historic Chinese city of Quanzhou, Haoting explained that shared heritage allows Asians to look past political frontiers: “We don’t see borders. We see human achievement, and we see the dialogue between nature and civilisation.” In doing so, these historical treasures create a common ground for identity, offering “stories that Asians, regardless of where we are from, can feel really proud of and connected to.”
For Haoting, the e-book stands as tangible proof that by setting aside competing editorial priorities, Asian newsrooms can unite around stories that meaningfully bind the region’s people together.
Ultimately, rather than erasing diversity, she believes heritage connects the continent by honouring its existing bonds, concluding that “heritage can be one of our most powerful tools for bringing Asia together, not by ignoring our differences, but by celebrating the deeper ties that have always been there, that will be waiting for us to be rediscovered.”
Adding a practical perspective, Zaffar asserted that heritage is “a single big factor in not only uniting Asia, bringing Asia and Asians closer to each other, but also letting the world know what history and heritage in various parts of Asia tell us.”
He highlighted religion as a core pillar of this collective identity, noting that across diverse faiths, from Buddhism to Islam, “there is so much commonality in different countries” when examining historical sites and community origins.
Finally, Yang emphasised that while Asian nations carry distinct historical backgrounds, “we also share core values” that emerge when actively preserved and explored. As an example, he pointed to South Korea’s deep historical roots and its close ties to neighboring countries.
Drawing on South Korea’s extensive history and its depiction in the e-book, he demonstrated how recorded traditions uncover these shared cultural foundations. “There are so many different but kind of familiar images that we share, like Buddhism, Confucianism, and all those Asian values crisscross with each other,” he said.
By showcasing these cultural landmarks, as in ANN’s e-book, Yang concluded, joint initiatives allow readers to take in a wider view and can illustrate “how cultural heritages in different countries represent the inflow and outflow of ideas, languages, food, and everything else,” leveraging media collaboration to bring the continent closer together.
The way forward for ANN
The consensus among the panellists was clear: Asia’s cultural heritage is far more than a reflection of its past—it is a vital bridge to a more connected future.
Through cross-border media initiatives like the e-book Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures, ANN reaffirms its founding mission to ensure that as Asia navigates a changing global landscape, its diverse stories are continuously being told by Asian voices, fostering a more united region.
To achieve this vision, Ng emphasised the importance of telling Asian stories through Asian voices. This entails expanding ANN’s efforts to ensure Asians tell their own narratives, discourse, and analysis rather than relying on external, non-Asian perspectives.
At the same time, she highlighted the need to showcase Asia’s unique blend of ancient heritage and rapid tech adoption to global audiences, offering them an authentic window into Asian identity.
Looking ahead, Ng reaffirmed the network’s long-term commitment to amplifying the region’s cultural wealth. “ANN will continue to strive to be present on platforms which matter to tell people about our region, its treasures, and our stories,” she said.
Building on this vision, Anam recommended that each member paper actively promote the heritage e-book on its own platforms and organise local events, such as seminars, to re-engage domestic readers and youth with their collective legacy. “In fact, I think I would urge all of us to take one step ahead,” he said. “For example, in Bangladesh, I could hold a seminar for Bangladeshis and share the e-book that reveals so much of our heritage.”
Beyond these, Anam also suggested expanding future collaborative e-books and editorial projects to encompass music, literature, food, and major literary figures.
Shifting the focus to operational realities, Ho highlighted how ANN can navigate fast-changing industry shifts through joint reporting and resource-sharing. He stressed that the imperative for ANN is to “collaborate even more now and in the coming years” to tackle existential media challenges, including AI integration, funding pressures, and shifting business models.
Reinforcing Anam’s ideas on cultural coverage, Ho recommended that ANN explore both traditional heritage—such as languages, temples, and local customs—and contemporary cultural phenomena like K-pop, modern media, and culinary traditions to engage broader populations across borders.
Taking a practical, economic approach, Abbas proposed leveraging shared history to drive regional travel. He noted that “tourism and religious tourism are factors that can bring millions of people travelling from one place to the other.” This engagement, he argued, would not only deepen cross-border ties but also incentivise governments to preserve their historical landmarks.
Consequently, he suggested focusing future ANN heritage projects on shared spiritual and religious centres across Asia to foster intra-Asian understanding.
Focusing on distribution and internal collaboration, Yang underscored the importance of expanding dedicated regional pages—in both print and digital formats—across member outlets specifically for ANN stories and e-book highlights. “We can help each other to find a path forward by discussing those key issues, and this kind of e-book project is a big opportunity and good experiment that we can build upon for the future,” he added.
Furthermore, Yang advocated using annual offline meetings and online network dialogues to collectively tackle technological transformations, such as integrating AI tools in newsrooms.
He also pushed for sharing more stories, noting that “the more we share stories with each other, the less likely we are going to be like a neighbour, a region of neighbours who surprisingly little know about.” He added that focusing on topics like cultural heritage, food, music, and art allows media outlets to bring a wider variety of stories to their audiences—creating more opportunities to navigate an increasingly challenging media landscape.
Lastly, Houting reasserted ANN’s role as a unified “symphony of diverse perspectives” that presents Asian voices clearly and confidently to Western and global audiences. “I think we have been standing side by side, not just as media outlets, but as trusted friends,” she noted.
To sustain this momentum, she called for co-producing special reports, coordinating joint news coverage during regional crises, and organising regional forums alongside cross-border training workshops for journalists across member titles.
Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures is produced in partnership with Lion Rock Group, a global leader in book printing and print management. You can download the e-book on the ANN website .