Saturday, April 22
NATION BUILDING – ACHIEVABLE GOAL OR COLONIAL PIPE-DREAM
In the aftermath of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq the world is awakening to the fact that it is much easier to destroy a country than rebuild it. It has been tried before, and there is much to be learned from the successes and failures of nation-building in the past few decades - from Haiti to Kosovo and East Timor. In this session of the forum we will re-examine the status of nation-building - how it is progressing, can it really ever work, how is it covered, what is the involvement of the media and what does it mean for the peoples of the countries involved?
Producer/Chair: Gunter Knabe, Diplomatic Correspondent (Asia/Islam World), Deutsche Welle TV and Radio International, Germany
Keynote speaker:
Richard Perle, Resident Fellow at American Enterprise Institute; former Chairman of the Defense Policy Board (2001-2003); former Assistant Secretary of Defense (1981-1987), USA
Panelists:
Ambassador Robert Simmons, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for Central Asia and the Caucasus, Belgium
Philip Seib, Lucius W. Nieman Professor of Journalism, Marquette University, USA
Masud Qiam, Broadcaster and Journalist, Tolo TV, Afghanistan
Veran Matic, CEO, B92, Serbia
Vitaliy Tretyakov, Chief Editor, “Moskovskie novosti” newspaper, Russia
Dara Hassan Reshid, Special Advisor to President on Reconstruction and Development of Kurdistan, Iraq
Seska Stanojlovic, Foreign Editor, Vreme news magazine, Serbia
— 11.30-12.00: Coffee break
— 12.00-13.30 Plenary Session #7
MEDIA OF THE MASSES
The continued convergence of media and technology is blurring the distinction between providers, schedulers and consumers of media. Today’s television comprises a myriad of channels in which viewers develop their own schedules and viewing habits. Technology and finance have lowered the barriers to mass communication. Anyone with a PC and access to the internet can now develop their own programming. Almost every mobile phone has a camera and the digital video revolution has pushed newsgathering resources into the hands of the public. We are witnessing an explosion of news and information in the form of websites, podcasts and blogs; ordinary people expressing themselves, their views and ideas to anyone who cares to log on, tune in or download. It appears that ordinary people dominate media content and production. So where does this leave publishers and broadcasters?
- Why do traditional formats of programming and publishing no longer appeal to the mass audience?
- Where is this convergence taking us, what are the next forms and formats of programming and delivery?
- What are the threats and opportunities for the traditional media company, who are the new players in this market?
- How have blogs, mobile communications and online information sources changed the strategies of broadcast and news organizations?
- Why has observation and participation replaced discussion and analysis in television culture?
- What commercial strategies will work in a converged future?
Chair: Danny Schechter, Editor, MediaChannel.org, USA
Panelists:
Michael Rosenblum, President, Rosenblum Associates Television Production and Consultancy, creator of video journalism, founder of NY Times TV, USA
Kenneth Krushel, Chief Executive Officer, Proteus, USA
Andrew Braddel, Regional General Manager, Russia, the CIS & the Baltics, AP Television News
Ammar Bakkar, Head of New Media, MBC Group, Editor-in-Chief, Alarabiya.net, Al Arabiya News Channel, UAE
Prem Prakash, Chairman, Asian News International, India
John Defterios, Vice President of Content and Principal Anchor, FBC, United Kingdom
John Burke, Weblog editor, World Editors Forum, France
— 12.00-13.00 Roundtable (Abai Room, Mezzanine floor)
NATO’S INCREASING ENGAGEMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA
Guest speakers:
Ambassador Robert Simmons, Secretary General's Special Representative for Central Asia and the Caucasus, NATO
Richard Holbrooke, Chairman, the Asia Society, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, former Assistant Secretary of State, USA
Richard Perle, Resident Fellow at American Enterprise Institute; former Chairman of the Defense Policy Board (2001-2003); former Assistant Secretary of Defense (1981-1987)
— 13.30-14.30: Lunch
— 14.30-16.00: Plenary Session #8
CROSSING THE LINE BETWEEN HUMOUR AND OFFENCE?
The issue surrounding what is humor and what is offence has been highlighted this year by a number of incidents. Controversial and sometimes violent reaction across the Islamic world followed the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in the European press. For Kazakhstan the controversy surrounding Borat Sagdiyev, a character of British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen, came to a head following the MTV Music Awards ceremony, and caused a harsh negative reaction from the Kazakh authorities. These incidents intensify the debate on freedom of expression and speech versus what is too offensive to tolerate.
- What responsibility do the media have when it comes to drawing a line between freedom of expression and offence to religious and national feelings?
- How justified and effective was the reaction of some members of the Muslim community to the cartoons?
- Should actors and artists have any ethical or moral considerations when portraying countries, races and people?
Chair: Vladimir Rerikh, Journalist, producer, Kazakhstan
Panelists:
Dr. Ariel Cohen, Senior research fellow, Expert on International Security, Arab-Israeli conflict,
the Heritage Foundation, USA
Sharon Lockyer, Lecturer in Media Studies, School of Media and Cultural Production, DeMontford University, editor, “Beyond a Joke. The limits of Humour”, United Kingdom
Vladimir Legoida, Chief Editor, “Foma” magazine, member of the Commission on the issues of religious unions of Russia
Eric Frey, Managing Editor, Der Standard, Austria
Jan Prins, Founding Board Member, World Editors Forum, Advisor to PCM Uitgevers, Netherlands
Imtiaz Alam, Secretary General, South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), editor, South Asian Journal, Pakistan
— 16.00-17.00: “Question Time”
Guest speakers:
Richard Holbrooke, Chairman, the Asia Society, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, former Assistant Secretary of State, USA
Richard Perle, Resident Fellow at American Enterprise Institute; former Chairman of the Defense Policy Board (2001-2003); former Assistant Secretary of Defense (1981-1987)
17.00-17.30: CLOSING ADDRESS
by Dr. Dariga Nazarbayeva, Chair of the Eurasian Media Forum
Organizing Committee, Kazakhstan
19.30-24.00: Forum Gala Event
hosted by International Herald Tribune
Palladium Jazz Club
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