MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT -- East-West Center Bangkok Media Conference

“Changing Dynamics in the Asia Pacific: Power Politics, Economic Might, and Media Challenges”

Venue: Novotel Siam Square Hotel, January 21-23, 2008

HONOLULU (Oct. 12) – Blogging in China, 2008 Olympics coverage, inside views on Burma, and outlooks on North Korea’s latest moves will be just a few of the highlights at a Bangkok media conference sponsored by the East-West Center in January. Journalists will get the most current and reliable information on the big stories in the Asia Pacific, as well as the lesser known but important emerging issues. In three compact days, you'll hear from experts and reporters on the front lines.

Attendees will also get the latest on Asia’s dynamic media as well as challenges facing journalists in the region.

The conference will host keynote speakers and experts, panels of journalists, and media workshops. Issues will include: meeting Asia’s energy demands, India’s rise, covering Islam, and U.S.-Asia relations after 2008 elections. Learn from Pacific Island journalists about the competition for influence from China, Taiwan and other countries in this remote but strategic part of the world. New Media trends and media forecasts in the region as well as challenges to journalists, including censorship and covering conflicts, will also be addressed.

You can sign up for a three-day trip to the Thai-Burma border before the conference to see firsthand the complex stories of Burmese refugees, illegal immigrants and stateless people; or stay in island homes in Southern Thailand to see how local people are preserving their traditional livelihoods and culture in the global economy. Registration deadline for these newsgathering trips is Nov. 7.

With an Early Bird registration fee of only $75 that covers the programs and most meals, and with lists of inexpensive hotels on the conference website, journalists and others who are interested in the region can participate for a reasonable price and meet experts and journalists from throughout the region gathered in one place. Early Bird registration deadline is Nov. 7.

Program highlights and speakers include:

• Everything China. 2008 will be a big year for China. Leading Chinese journalists, foreign correspondents and other experts will talk about the Olympics, the impact of blogging, and other important China stories. Speakers include Isaac Mao, co-founder of Social Brain Foundation and CNBlog.org— the earliest evangelizing site in China on grassroots publishing— who openly challenged Google to support anti-censorship; Li Datong, former chief editor of Freezing Point Weekly, a publication of China Youth Daily, who has been dismissed twice in his career from editor positions for his efforts to reform China’s media; experienced sports journalist Francesco Liello, China correspondent for La Gazzetta dello Sport and board member of the Foreign Correspondents Club of China who has been covering Olympics developments since March 2005; and East-West Center’s China specialist Chris McNally.

• Key speakers on news and media issues include Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General-Designate, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and former Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand; Bill Kovach, Founder, Committee for Concerned Journalists; Sheila Coronel, recognized for developing investigative journalism in the Philippines and head of investigative reporting at Columbia University; Christopher G. Moore, award winning author for his Thailand-based novels, and Fereidun Fesharaki, a foremost energy expert.

• Burma insights from Aung Zaw, editor and director of The Irrawaddy magazine, a foremost publication covering Burma; and from other Burmese journalists.

• Frontline views from Northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Pacific Islands, plus key issues that will impact the 2008 U.S. presidential elections and U.S.-Asia Pacific relations.

• Blogging and other New Media trends, challenges facing journalists and impact of newsroom nationalism on media coverage.

• Workshops on investigative reporting, enterprise reporting, web-based journalism and reporting on China.

• Covering conflicts.

• Conference registration includes a half-day field trip into Bangkok’s slums with people known for their work with the poor; to an organization outside Bangkok that offers help and protection to victims of abuse and HIV/AIDS and that promotes women’s issues; or a tour of Bangkok’s temples with a cultural expert.

General registration deadline ($100) is Jan. 5, 2008. Click here for the conference agenda, registration forms and other program details.

For more information, contact Susan Kreifels, East-West Center media programs coordinator, at kreifels@eastwestcenter.org or call (808) 944-7176.