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Conference pledges to improve public service broadcasting

The 1st Conference of the Ministers on Information and Broadcasting in Asia-Pacific region was held in Bangkok, Thailand on May 27, 28 Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Dr. Wissanu Krea-nagm delivered the keynote address at the inauguration ceremony. The Thai government has hosted this conference which was organised by the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) with the assistance of the International Telecommunication Union, UNESCO, UN ESCAP, APT, the Friedrich Ebert - Stiftung (FES) and the French Government.

The Ministers of the Information and Broadcasting from countries in the Asia-Pacific region and heads of radio and television organisations, policy makers, decision makers, scholars and representatives of international organisations attended this conference to discuss pressing matters related to information and broadcasting sectors.

Taking into account the cultural, political, economical and financial diversity in the region, this conference focused on current issues, concerns, challenges in the broadcasting industry such as globalisation, digital divide, women and children's issues, television rights for sporting events, public service broadcasting and other matters.

The Minister of Mass Communication, Imthiaz Bakeer Markar who has to lead this conference did not attend the conference due to the flood situation in Sri Lanka and Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Communication Kumar Abeysinghe led the delegation.

Kumar Abeysinghe was elected to chair the 1st working session of this conference under the theme of 'Aspects of Globalisation'.

This two day conference was held in Bangkok on important themes such as media and globalisation, cultural diversity, public service broadcasting, information divide and human resource development.

The statement sent to this conference by Minister of Mass Communication, Imthiaz Bakeer Markar was read by Sri Lankan Ambassador in Thailand H.S. Palihakkara.

"While technology has expanded the capabilities of the broadcasters, it is not secret that the globalisation of media has given rise to a host of political, cultural and socio-economic challenges. They have unprecedented ramifications on society and the way of life.

These concerns are encapsulated in terminologies such as cultural homogenization, cultural invasion, cultural hegemony, commercialization of broadcasting and so on.

Some of these terms may have been overwritten ones, but they do contain elements of real concern. The onslaught of the commercial forces on the concept of public service broadcasting which was one time considered a divine duty of the broadcaster, is another source of concern. It poses questions on the very legitimacy of the usage of the electromagnetic spectrum which is in the public domain.

Despite the technological marvels we have, or perhaps because of them, there are concerns about the way in which the media have become a means of publicizing socially harmful material, escalating crime rates, violence, social discontent, unsustainable lifestyles, alcoholism are some such propagations attributed to multi-media," the Minister said.

The politicians who are at the receiving end of this public concerns at times call for intervention forcing hard choices on the policy makers. On the one hand we are firmly committed to creating a free media environment. On the other hand however, the policy makers have to take cognizance of the public concerns about what is perceived as socially undesirable.

Sri Lanka has made some progress in addressing this twin challenge. We are in the process of putting in place a legislative framework to further enhance the free and socially responsive media. In Sri Lanka the media is not the monopoly of the government.

The government owned TV stations have to compete with a large number of private stations for their sustenance. The entire landscape of media in the region as you know has changed or is in the process of change due to emerging new the region as you know has changed or is in the process of change due to emerging new players, new technologies and the dynamics of the knowledge economy and its consumers. Legislating to control the media sector is both impossible and undesirable," the Minister said.

Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Communication Kumar Abeysinghe submitted a special paper on "The global digital divide how does it affected in the region."

In his speech he said "unsurprisingly in the new millennium the focus of the global community has shifted to the need for bridging the digital gap. A gap that divides societies within the nation and across nation. Sometimes I feel that this has made us to forget various other divides left behind by previous development paradigm.

Hardly ever a conference an international gathering or for that matter casual conversation in private parlance passes by without referring to the digital gap. The urgent need to bridge that in order to increase the quality of life of the human beings that dwell in our planet.

The euphoric cry raised by the technology buffs joined by the modern day development gurus makes us feel that bridging the digital is the panacea for all the ills in society. So we as policy makers and implementers too have joined the band wagon and deep on appealing to the millions of hungry poor who are unable to have a basic meal to be patient till we bridge this gap to be able to fill their hungry stomachs," Abeysinghe said.

Over 300 participants at the conference adopted the Bangkok Declaration on Information and Broadcasting in Asia-Pacific region under the themes of media and globalisation, cultural diversity, public service broadcasting, information divide and human resource development.

Delegates of the Bangkok conference has pledged to support to implement the Bangkok Declaration in their respective countries and this will submit to ITU World Summit on Information Society - Geneva in December 2003 as a working paper, the Ministry said in a press release.

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