CHIANG MAI, Thailand – Some 225 participants, the bulk of them journalists from Mekong countries, are set to discuss, debate and take stock of their media environment against a backdrop of changing and often quite different news cultures at the Mekong Media Forum, which starts here Dec. 9.

The four-day media conference brings together a mix of participants, from print, television journalists and photojournalists to civil society, academics and developments, who will be discussing a menu of issues such as changes in the Mekong media scene, new trends, citizen journalism and new media, training, media challenges and reporting on water governance, children, as well as gender and sexuality.

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A variety of compelling stories will open your eyes to the realities, diversity and interconnectedness of the Mekong region via Cinema Mekong, a series of showings of documentaries at the Mekong Media Forum, to be held Dec 9-12, 2009 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cinema Mekong features the work of documentary filmmakers and video journalists who have been part of the Imaging Our Mekong Media Fellowship since 2002 — making this unique series of films very much from the lens of local filmmakers — as well as other films that focus on the Mekong region. The works selected for the Forum screenings cover transboundary topics on environment, culture, children, women and cultural identity.

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CHIANG MAI - Community radio’s growth over the years in many Asian countries has had a profound impact on the lives of many communities - and that includes Lao PDR. For many, the medium is a platform for people to voice out their views about issues that affect them. After all, people living in isolated communities in countries in the Mekong Region lack readily available and informative materials, a situation made more challenging by low literacy rates and the variety of different languages within nation-states.

The current situation of community radio and its potential for being ‘radio for the people, by the people’ in Lao PDR will be the highlight of a satellite session to be held Dec. 10, 2009 at the Mekong Media Forum, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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How have economic integration and openness shaped the media environment in he Mekong region? What do audiences expect in the age of more openness? What changes in press laws and access to information have taken place in the last 15 years?

What is the role of the market in today’s media in the Mekong region? Are all state media for propaganda? What are the differences in policy toward media, say, between countries like China and Vietnam? What hurdles do local photojournalists face in reaching regional and international audiences? What ‘inside’ stories can local journalists provide that visiting journalists cannot have as good access to?

These are some of the questions to be discussed and debated at the Mekong Media Forum, to be held in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai in December 2009.

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