ASEAN community journalists talk about issues and challenges in Bangkok forum
Bangkok, Thailand– Community media practitioners from all over Southeast Asia are holding a four-day workshop and forum in this city from July 10-13, 2017 organized by the CFI Cooperation Medias and Foundation for Community Educational Media.
The forum is a venue for the discussion of issues and challenges faced by community journalists, bloggers and broadcasters and hopes to foster collaborations in the region, the organizers said.
Present are the delegates from the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Cambodia, as well as organizers from the French CFI Cooperation Medias.
The delegates shared their views on various issues such as fake news, harassment, red-baiting, censorship and freedom of expression in the plenary sessions,.
Kodao Productions’ Raymund Villanueva was among the first speakers in the forum who talked about the characteristics and business model of alternative community radio stations in the Philippines.
“The alternative we try to present the most is the voice of the suppressed, repressed and oppressed. We believe they are not voiceless, more so when they are organized. It is just that they are not being listened to; we are here to help amplify their voices,” Villanueva said in his presentation.
In the next sessions, resource persons from various fields and countries will be tackling community media as bridges enabling social inclusion and links, national minorities, citizen journalism, women’s rights, and the youth.
Alternative journalist and filmmaker Bernadette de la Cuadra of Tudla Productions for her part shall talk about Youth and Community Media tomorrow, the fourth day of the forum.
This will be followed by series of thematic workshops in September and October 2017 and the closing ceremonies in January 2018. # (Edgie Uyanguren of The Breakaway Media for Kodao Productions)
