The SEA Media Legal Defense Program
Southeast Asia Media Defence Litigation Conference
A Legal Defence Programme for Southeast Asia
21-23 May 2007 The University of Hong Kong
Co-hosted by
Journalism and Media Studies Centre, HKU
Southeast Asian Press Alliance
Program in Comparative Media Law and Policy, Oxford University,
International Bar Association
After more than a year of planning, Conference organizers will welcome more than 70 Asian and international media and human rights lawyers to the Southeast Asia Media Defence Litigation Conference.
Over the three days, conference participants will take part in a groundbreaking effort to build and strengthen national and regional capacity for media defence litigation in Asia.
In workshops and networking events, delegates and legal experts will share with each other their immense wealth of experience on the legal threats to press freedoms in six Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, and formulate strategies on harnessing that collective knowledge to win the legal battles ahead.
The Conference marks a new phase of a continuing partnership to forge the first-ever network of media defence lawyers in Asia.
August 23, 2006 at 5:58 pm
[...] I. Curriculum Building in BangkokII. Training Seminar in Hong Kong [...]
March 29, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Dear Sir / Madam,
This is ABRAR,
I am really glad to hear that a conference in Hong Kong will take place on 21-23 MAY 2007, about South East Asia Media Defence Litigation.
I have done a professional training course in University of Oxford (UK) with coordination of PCMLP, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and Annenberg School for Communication , University of Pennsylvania USA in July -August 2006. It was funded by Annenberg. I am working with a broadcasting Regulator in Pakistan and freedom of speech and South East Asia Media is the focus of my study. This conference is very relevant for myself and will benefit our society as a whole , my organisation will also gain benefit from it. I humbly request that I want to attend this conference, if I may please be funded this conference as it is a matter of 3 days only. Only by financial help I can attend to this conference, I have no other means to afford it. 70% of people in Pakistan are living below poverty line they dont know due to lack of awareness, lack of education and their right to know and to live in a liberal society. Freedom of speech is their fundamental right and they should know their rights through Media and its
litigation.
Looking forward for a rapid response with a hope,
Thanking you,
ABRAR
E-mail: parisright@ yahoo.com
PAKISTAN
April 2, 2007 at 3:34 am
I am human rights lawyer working as volunteer in the human rights center in my country. Protection of press freedom is part of our advocacy in ensuring a stable and a democratic society. However, being a volunteer lawyer, i dont have financial capacity to join the said conference. Can i apply for funding? Thank you
neil y. pacamalan
philippines
May 15, 2007 at 1:10 am
Hi,
To the organizers of this conference.
I wonder why Vietnam was excluded from this conference?
Thank you for your attention
May 15, 2007 at 1:37 am
Dear Friends,
At a time when dissidents are being jailed and physically muzzled (as can be attested by an AFP photo showing a security policeman clamping shut Father Nguyen Van Ly’s mouth at his trial on March 30, 2007, in Hue) and when NOT ONE SINGLE media is independently owned, I find it most regrettable that a famous forum like your Conference would choose to remain silent on the matter, not to touch a country like Vietnam. How I wish that we, living in free societies, could do better than that!
May 15, 2007 at 7:58 am
Thank you all for your interest in our conference.
We do regret that slots to the event are inevitably limited and that we therefore could not afford to open participation to everyone.
Nonetheless, it’s important to stress that the organizers see this conference as a step towards a more tangible and relevant network for media defense in Southeast Asia. We envision the process eventually moving on to activities on the national levels, at which point we would hope that the interest and support from media lawyers and champions of freedom of expression will continue.
Regarding Vietnam: Actually, we are expecting three Vietnamese lawyers to take part in the conference as observers. This is in recognition precisely of the growing need and room for media defense litigation in Vietnam, notwithstanding lingering concerns and perceptions that the overall environment in the country retains significant differences from those of countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Such considerations have factored into the organizers’ attempt to focus the program for the conference.
Thank you again for your interest and understanding. As the process moves forward, we are hopeful that we can accommodate more interested parties in future activities stemming from the upcoming conference.
Roby Alampay
Bangkok
Southeast Asian Press Alliance
May 16, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I think it is a bias for the conference not including Vietnam into its participating list. Fostering the freedom of expression, the conference should not avoiding the authoritarian regime as Vietnam, it sentenced many journalists and human rights lawyers in jail for their peaceful expression of their points of view.
Ignoring these facts, the conference has put its credibility on the line. It should not betray its mission to sideline the real thorns and keep going on with the routine works.