Democracy and Governance: Emerging Paradigms in a Digital Age”.

The media are central institutions of the public sphere and therefore play a critical role in enhancing democratization and good governance. While democracy has generally been spreading across the world, we have seen countries where democracy is challenged and where the failure of governance has led to widespread poverty, hunger and deprivation.

The media can play a significant role in spreading awareness and empowering people while monitoring governments and corporations and holding them accountable. In recent years, the advent of the Internet and digital information and communication technologies have brought about a profound transformation in the way people communicate and share knowledge and information. These new technologies offer vast new opportunities for public participation and engagement and have the potential to expand the public sphere, deepen political participation and enhance good governance and democracy.

However, the media and new digital technologies can also present new challenges and be exploited to extend control and surveillance thus policy makers need to put in place the necessary mechanisms that can mitigate the harmful use of the media by extremists and special interest groups.

This conference will provide a critical space for both media professionals and academics to exchange knowledge and share their experiences on the role of the media in bringing about development and the new paradigms that are emerging in the digital age.

AMIC’s key event is the flagship annual conference, hosted in rotation by countries across the Asia-Pacific region. Recent annual conferences have been held in Manila, Philippines (2008), Singapore (2007), Penang, Malaysia (2006), Beijing, PR China (2005) and Bangkok, Thailand (2004).

The AMIC Annual Conference is a premier event on the Asian media calendar and attracts eminent international speakers and participants from the media industry and academia. Delegates to the conference come not only from the Asia-Pacific region, but also from Europe and the Americas as well. It features high-profile keynote addresses, plenary sessions, and several parallel sessions. Networking events, cultural programmes, media visits and even tourism events are also held in conjunction with the annual conference.
For more information or any queries, please contact Ms. Sandhya Srinivasan at sandhya@amic.org.sg.» read more ...