John D.H. Downing
Professor of International Communication
Founding Director, Global Media Research Center Southern Illinois University, USA
Keynote Address

Alfonso Gumucio-Dagron
Communication for Social Change Consortium; OURMedia Network
Sponsored by Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University

conference opening

Sharon Bhagwan Rolls
Founding Director, femLINKPACIFIC: Media Initiatives for Women, Fiji. AMARC Asia-Pacific
Sponsored by Australian National Commission for UNESCO

Clemencia Rodriguez
Oklahoma University, OURMedia Network
Sponsored by Channel Foundation (USA)

Stuart Allan
Professor of Cultural Studies
University of the West of England, UK
Sponsored by Centre For Cultural Research (UWS)
http://stc.uws.edu.au/gmjau/vol1_2007/stuart_allan.html

Faye Ginsburg
Professor of Anthropology
Director, Centre for Media, Culture & History, New York University, USA
Sponsored by School of Communication Arts (UWS)

Nalaka Gunawardene
Director and CEO, Television for Education - Asia Pacific (TVEAP)
Sponsored by ISSS, AusAID

Suman Basnet
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC AP)
Regional Coordinator for Asia and Pacific regions, Nepal
Sponsored by ISSS, AusAID

Raghu Mainali
Director, Community Radio Support Centre, NEFEJ, Nepal
Sponsored by ISSS, AusAID

Lena Nahlous
Director, Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE), Australia

Kosala Keerthirathne N.G.Dr
Kothmale Community Media Centre Sri Lanka - UNESCO Program Coordinator
Sponsored by ISSS, AusAID

Luis Evaristo dos Santos Soares
Coordinator Community Radio Center, Timor Leste
Sponsored by Australian National Commission for UNESCO

Oiwan Lam
HK-inmedia.org, Interlocals.net, Hong Kong
Sponsored by ICE

Mavic Cabrera - International Women’s Tribune Centre
Sponsored by Channel Foundation

Stanley Kaka & Jenny Wanis - Community Radio Centres, Papua New Guinea
Sponsored by Channel Foundation


Wilna W Quarmyne - Ghana Community Radio Network & Radio Ada Ghana
Sponsored by Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University

Robert A. Hackett
Simon Fraser University; NewsWatch Canada

Dorothy Kidd
University of San Francisco; Media Alliance, USA

Helen Molnar
Executive Director, MC Media & Associates
Sponsored by ISSS, AusAID

Tricia Jenkins
Representative from hi8us - (UK)
Sponsored by British Council, Australia

Barry Melville
General Manager, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA)

Tim Tolhurst
General Manager, National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasting Council (NEMBC)

Deborah Kingsland
Documentary Filmmakers Group, UK

Amparo Cadavid
Professor of Communication, Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
Sponsored by Channel Foundation (USA)

Sun-quan Huang
Shih Hsin University; POTS Weekly, Taiwan


Community Use of Digital Spectrum Public Forum
Open Spectrum: Digital Television Opportunities

The introduction of digital television has caused a flurry of government reviews, inquiries and committee hearings. Despite this activity, the government has maintained a cautious approach through the transition phase, restricting incumbents and prohibiting the entry of new broadcasters. Community television remains locked into analogue transmission, with no more than a standard definition digital channel on the horizon. The Indigenous media sector has been allocated funding for programming but no nationally-available channel. Unsurprisingly, audiences are migrating to alternative platforms, such as broadband and Pay TV, while a rapidly expanding citizen-producer base turns to YouTube and MySpace for distribution. Should we just give up on digital television? This panel will conduct an ‘alternative review’ of digital television. Our Terms of Reference include the future of Australian television broadcasting and the emerging revolution in communitybased media. How do we structure a coherent and viable model for citizen (and collective) expression on digital television? What is the benefit of having non-profit, community-run stations? The speakers in this session will represent a range of stakeholders, including: the community broadcasting sector, Indigenous media,
education, cultural institutions, screen development and government. Each of them will outline their vision for community use of digital spectrum:

1. Dedicated channels for specific use, for instance an Indigenous channel
2. Local programs, entertainment and information
3. A space for independent digital media production, both professional and amateur
4. On-demand information relating to group activities (membership, donation forms, fact sheets), building a multiplatform presence for civil society organisations
5. Educational courseware with related content
6. An entry-point to cultural archives and collections
7. Access to government information and local issues, including programs that allow for citizen input into national debate.

Chair: Ellie Rennie is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology. Ellie is currently working on ‘Youthworx: Youth Media and Social Enterprise’ which forms part of the program of the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation. Ellie Rennie is author of Community Media: A Global Introduction (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006).

PANELISTS

Barry Melville has been the General Manager of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) since July 2001. He has worked in media and communications policy for over twenty years. Previously he worked for the Australian Consumers’ Association, the Communications Law Centre, the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Department of Communications. He has also lectured in IT and communications policy and been active in consumer advocacy groups.

Andrew Garton (OPEN CHANNEL) is a writer, producer and composer. He is a Director of APC.au and sits on the Executive Board of the Association for Progressive Communications. He is currently Program Director of the OPEN CHANNEL Cooperative, Editor of ICT Rights Watch Australia and Manager of the artist run, not-for-profit new music collective, Secession Records.http://toysatellite.org/agarton/

Professor Julian Thomas is Director of the Institute for Social Research at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, and is also a program leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation. His research interests are in new media, information policy and the history of communications technologies. His publications include studies of intellectual property issues relating to new media, the future of local content rules for Australian television, and computer skills in Australian schools. Julian is an associate editor of the websites Australian Policy Online and Creative Economy, and co-editor with Peter Browne of Briefings, a series of books on current issues in public policy published by UNSW Press. He is also a member of the editorial committee of the journal Southern Review: Communication, Politics and Culture, and co-edited with Robert Hassan The New Media Theory Reader (Open UP, 2006).

Peter Lane has worked in community media for 30 years. He is committed to media as a tool for community development and individual growth, and to civil access to information and communications technologies. Peter works in training, project development and management, and production, and is currently Chair of Channel 31 Melbourne.

Mark Pesce: Know internationally as the man who fused virtual reality with the World Wide Web, Mark Pesce has been exploring the frontiers of the future for over two decades. The author of five books, Pesce is widely respected as a technologist, futurist, philosopher and thinker, able to translate abstract concepts into concrete explanations. Mainstream publications such as Forbes ASAP, TIME Digital, WIRED and The New York Times have profiled him and his views on the interactive age. From 1998 through 2000, Pesce chaired the Interactive Media Program at the University of Southern California’s world-renowned School of Cinema-Television. He arrived in Australia in 2003. He has worked at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and now runs his own consultancy, FutureStreet.