Priyanka Chopra in Sharjah: When I visit refugees, so much media coverage involves the issue

Priyanka Chopra Jonas spoke on the opening day of the International Government Communication Forum on Wednesday morning.

The actor, producer and activist, who started her career in Bollywood, spoke about how precisely online influencers and celebrities may use social media for an excellent cause in a talk entitled HOW COME the Screen Have so Much Effect on Public Opinion?.

“I love using my socials a whole lot and sharing my experiences. There’s so much capacity to social media. I’ve been an ambassador for Unicef for some time and we [social media influencers] turn into a means to an end," said Chopra Jonas.

On this, she discussed travelling to Jordan with Unicef. "I visited the refugees, so when I happen to be places like that and when I write individual stories of children and families, there is so much media coverage that involves that. It gives the story a life.

"We certainly are a conduit for folks who don’t have a voice. That’s where in fact the responsibility of social media influencers can be found in."

She also spoke about spreading the message of peace through social media, saying: “Public people have always been utilizing their platform to speak about peace, and also have been imploring governments to provide it to us. What we [celebrities] have that is different from the general public is a privileged platform," she said, adding: "But I’ve worked hard to be where I am."

Chopra Jonas concluded her session at the forum by touching on diversity and equality in the entertainment industry. She said: “I was just somebody who wanted to be the very best at everything I was doing. When I first started employed in India, my quest was for equality for women in the film industry because I felt women were often marginalised. THEREFORE I chose roles which were main characters. So when I started working beyond India, I saw the dire need of diversity. I played Holi on [the] Jimmy Fallon [show] and persons responded well saying: ‘Oh, my god, Holi appears like an excellent festival.’”