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.

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.

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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Interested individuals who want to join the Mekong Media Forum, to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from Dec. 9-12, 2009, may still register until Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, at 12 noon (Bangkok time). Registration forms and other required documents sent past the cut-off date will not be entertained.

For queries and other information, write to secretariat@mekongmediaforum.net.

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The Mekong Media Forum (MMF), to be held on December 9-12, 2009 in Chiang Mai, will gather media professionals to discuss the state of media and creative space, learn new skills and exchange ideas around the media as an actor for social change in Mekong societies.

Registration for the Mekong Media Forum is now closed>>>

• Now Showing: Cinema Mekong >>> Click here for more information!

• Wanted: Conference Documenters >>> More information here!

• Call for Volunteers >>> Click here to join!