Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures: ANN releases new e-book on continent’s shared culture

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Image: Cover of the e-book/Courtesy

The Asia News Network (ANN), an alliance of 20 leading news outlets across the continent, has released a new e-book celebrating Asia’s cultural heritage, modern innovation and enduring spirit.

Launched under the banner “Bringing Asia Closer”, the digital publication, titled "Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures", seeks to offer regional and global readers an authentic glimpse into the continent’s shared identity.

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The publication deliberately looks beyond the geopolitical headlines that frequently dominate international news coverage, exploring the spiritual, cultural and historical threads that connect Asia, the world’s largest and most populous continent.

It features content ranging from ancient civilisations and historic cultural hubs to Unesco heritage sites, tourism attractions, lesser-known destinations and unique cultural treasures for travellers seeking new experiences.

The e-book can be downloaded from here. 

ANN Chairperson and Malaysia’s Star Media Group Chief Content Officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng said the e-book celebrates Asia’s ability to modernise rapidly while remaining deeply rooted in its heritage.

“Asia is living proof of heritage and legacy living on and evolving,” Ng said, noting that the region combines ancient legacies with ultra-modern facets and the world’s fastest technology adoption.

She also highlighted the e-book’s focus on Asia’s “winning factors” that foster global togetherness, and said the region had inherited a priceless heritage defined by endurance and survival, which she described as the most accurate descriptions of the Asian experience.

The project also addresses a longstanding challenge in regional media -- the reliance on Western perspectives to tell Asian stories.

Former ANN chairman Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, said the network was founded 27 years ago precisely to address this imbalance, describing the new e-book as part of a “journey of rediscovery”.

“Our mutual understanding mostly depended on how foreign news agencies and globally reputed newspapers covered us,” Mahfuz said, noting that such coverage tended to provide a problematic perspective.

“This awareness led 20 leading English-language dailies and a select number of national news agencies of Asia from Japan to Pakistan, covering most of the countries of Asia, to form a network to exchange news, views and features about ourselves for the reading and viewing of the general public of our respective countries,” he said.

“The more we know about ourselves, the more we are at ease in dealing with others. It helps us appreciate our differences and, in turn, respect them,” he added.

As regional cooperation transitions from a luxury to an absolute necessity in a globalised world, ANN said a second e-book is already in development to continue exploring the breadth of Asian culture.

ANN e-books are produced in partnership with Lion Rock Group, a global book printing and print management company serving publishers, education innovators and creators across Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.