The ABU’s brand-new international content festival “ABU CON-FEST” ended with #ABUdigital2023 on Friday, July 7, 2023. The premiere media event brought together over 150 producers and delegates from across Asia, and the Pacific.

ABU Secretary General, Ahmed Nadeem, called on delegates to unite with passion to create wonderful moments with brilliance of storytelling. He said, the need to focus on creative and engaging content creation has never been more crucial than now.

ABU Programme Director, Yasu Nagahata hoped the CON-FEST to be a bridge between ABU members. He said, ABU programmes aim is to create a platform for producers to share new ideas, and talk about creating content that matters.

The first day saw an engaging debate session titled-revolutionising how we consume content with some high profile individuals including the Director General of RTM Malaysia. The event also showcased selected work by past ABU Prize winners. These include:

• SATOYAMA Niigata: Living with Snow” (Documentary category 2022, from NHK Japan)
• The Days of Depression: A Shogi Master’s Invisible Opponent” (Drama category 2020, NHK Japan)
• Round Music Festival – Re:connect Each Other by Music & Digital (Digital Category 2021, KBS Korea)
• The Small Alley (Digital category 2022, from VOV Vietnam)

The presentation at ABU RadioSonic – “Is AI our Future” was received with much interest on the 2^nd day. The speaker from Futuri Media, & Creator, RadioGPT said companies that haven’t incorporated AI into their operating strategies by 2030 will be extinct. The final day, the #ABUdigital2023 featured several engaging presentations and a workshop. The ABU CON-FEST brings together ABU TV-CON, ABU RadioSonic and #ABUdigital all in one place.