Minister says Media Dialogue shows true value of ABU
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union demonstrated its value to the region with the opening of the 2018 RadioAsia and Media 2020 Conferences in Kazakhstan.
The host country’s Communications Minister Abayev Dauren Askerbekovich, praised the ABU and said that for Kazakhstan, this week’s events in the capital Astana were great forums for cooperation and sharing.
“This is an excellent opportunity to realise its content in the member countries of the broadcasting union, to take an active part in international projects conducted by the Union, and also to jointly address the issues of technological modernisation of television and radio broadcasting and content production,” he said.
In welcoming more than 150 delegates from across the region, around the world and from within his nation, the Minister said Astana was a centre of innovative development, including in the television and radio broadcasting industry and one of the main tasks of his Ministry was to provide a comfortable environment for its development.
There were 66 national and regional radio stations registered in Kazakhstan, as well as 150 local television channels and about 300 foreign TV channels.
He said the Ministry was actively working on a phased transition to digital broadcasting and to stimulate the development of the media industry, since 2017 they had introduced annual national media awards together with “Astana media week”, an interactive platform between content producers, broadcasters, TV and radio channels.
Ms Lyazzat Shunussova, the Director-General of host broadcaster Kazmedia, also welcomed delegates, saying she looks forward to exchanging experiences and discussing current trends in broadcasting.
ABU Secretary General Javad Mottaghi thanked Kazakhstan’s Communications Ministry for hosting this year’s Radio Asia and Media 2020s conferences and said ABU now has around 290 members, with membership growing every year. Established in 1964 as a non-profit, non-government, professional association to assist the development of broadcasting in the region, the ABU promotes the collective interests of television and radio broadcasters and encourages regional and international co-operation between broadcasters.
ABU events in Astana began with two pre-conference workshops, the first titled ‘Zero to Hero – Building your station from the Ground Up’ and the second ‘Making Great Radio for Children and Young People, Across Multiplatforms’.
RadioAsia Conference took place on the second day and was rounded off by the 5th ABU Song Festival 2018 – a musical showcase from across Asia and the Pacific, embracing and recognising the diverse musical talents of young, artists in the region.
It was followed by the Media 2020 dialogue, a series of gatherings co-hosted with Radio Romania and dedicated to discussing topical issues, current and long-term trends in the development of the media industry.
This report includes material kindly provided by asiaradiotoday.com.