The “Asia in the Eyes of Europe” research project examines European public, media, and opinion leaders’ perceptions of Asia. The project evolved from the on-going ASEF initiative, “The EU through the Eyes of Asia,” which looks at the perceptions of the EU in Asia across 12 research locations.
“Asia in the Eyes of Europe” provides valued comparability to the findings of “The EU through the Eyes of Asia.” The two-year research project was carried out in eight EU member states, and examined perceptions in three areas:
– Public opinion: Public opinion surveys were carried out in each location with over 6,000 respondents in total.
– Media analysis: The research looked at three media outlets in each location: a national reputable newspaper with the highest readership, a national popular newspaper, and the most popular TV news broadcast. The research included tracking news from media outlets such as Euronews and European Voice.
– Opinion leader interviews: The interviews assessed the perceptions of Asia amongst European opinion leaders, adding to the validity and the scope of the data collected. The interviewees were drawn from the media sector (e.g. foreign correspondents, editors) to better understand how news media perceive and present ‘Asia’ in European press.
The Methodology Workshop was held to familiarise the research team with the methods and tools used for data collection in the project.
The research was completed in 2012 and the findings are available in the new publication, “Asia in the Eyes of Europe – Images of a Rising Giant”.
