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The six-day Signis Asia Assembly 2015 , was inaugurated on 24th August 2015 at the Golden Star Beach Hotel in Negombo, Sri Lanka.  Around 40 delegates from 14 Asian countries are participating in this event. 9 delegates from Signis India are participating in this assembly.

The theme of the Assembly is “Social Media and Family Values” and its main objectives are to understand the power of social media, its positive and negative effects, to devise strategies in counteracting the negatives, understanding the power of social institutions and exploring the impact of social media on family values.

The Assembly participants were were welcomed by Rev Fr Gabriel Htun Mint –President of Signis Asia and Rev Fr Cyril Gamini Fernando –Director of Signis Sri Lanka.

Speaking as the Chief Guest, Bishop Raymond Wickremasinghe said that Signis has chosen a timely theme which is among the most spoken and most challenged subjects of our day. His Lordship observed that we are surrounded by social media everywhere and “its impact on our families has been astounding”. But, Bishop Wickremasinghe said, it is important that we understand the risks of social media when compared to other media which took a long time to reach many people.” Clearly, social media came on us like a landslide”, the Bishop said and added that there was no time for any of us to be educated about the power and the pitfalls and the rules and the ramifications of social media, how to use it responsibly, safely and how to protect our privacy while preventing cyber bullying and children’s exposure to inappropriate content.

The Bishop emphasized that children especially must learn and practice the skills of becoming discerning viewers and listeners and readers. In the home, parents are obliged to guide and supervise their children in the use of social media. Importantly, , parents and children should dialogue together about what is seen and observed in cyberspace, so that children do not become addicts of social media or neglect contact with their families and with nature. His Lordship concluded by saying that people at all levels in the Church could use social media creatively and thus help fulfill the Church’s mission.

Delivering the keynote address on the occasion, Dr Dharshani Gunathileke, Director General of Government Information said that unlike regular media which is a one-way street with no feedback, social media allows people to create, share or exchange information, ideas, pictures and so on in virtual communities and networks. Especially, we have to be careful about social media because it can create and co-create user-generated content. At the same time, the family is called upon to maintain its cherished values such as love, peace, truthfulness, righteousness, unity and non-violence. So, the challenge is, how can we align family values and social media? Also, how can we identify the related issues? Dr Gunathileke noted that social media, too, can create such values as the family. At the same time, it can violate family values also. Therefore, one can be a winner or a loser in making this balance. If managed properly, social media can add to family values and even help to spread them. Moreover, social media is not a passive source of information. Rather, it shapes us when it goes to our minds and hearts.

Other questions arise, too. Is social media reliable, accurate, relevant and trustworthy? Does it protect privacy? What are its effects on interpersonal relationships? Dr Gunathileke said that we must create a family values culture and talk about it with our children and believe in it and respect it. Thereafter, we can even create a community values culture that will support the family values culture and envelop the children protectively. “Values are life”, she said. “ The real power of values is how these are expressed in the family. If we can change social media with family values, then we can overcome the challenges posed by it”.