2nd Regional Conference of AMARC Asia Pacific to be held in Bangalore, India from 10-13 October 2009

March 19, Kathmandu.

The Asia Pacific region of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, AMARC Asia Pacific, will hold its 2nd Regional conference and Assembly from 10-13 October 2009 in Bangalore, India. The conference will be hosted by VOICES, a Bangalore based NGO working to promote community broadcasting in India. The regional conference will bring together community radio broadcasters, activists, academics, policy makers, and representatives of the donor community and governments to review the development of the community broadcasting in the Asia Pacific region in the last 4 years. It will take a careful look at thematic areas of development such as the empowerment of women within the CR sector, the role of community broadcasting in peace building, it's role in the face of global climate change and at times of natural disasters as well as for poverty eradication. The regional conference will address practical issues such as capacity building in areas of management, technology, community participation, monitoring and evaluation, media convergence, and networking and the conference will recommend steps that will ensure the way forward for the CR sector in the region. The 2nd Regional Assembly of AMARC Asia-Pacific will be held in conjunction with the Regional Conference. The Asia Pacific chapter of AMARC was formally established in November 2005 by the 1st Regional Assembly of AMARC's members in the Asia Pacific region during the regional conference held in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Conference provided a significant push to Community Radio in the Region by bringing together practitioners from Asia-Pacific and beyond along with experts and NGO representatives from the community media and communications rights sector. The Jakarta Regional Assembly elected a regional board and decided upon an action plan aimed at developing the community broadcasting sector in the region. As per the statutes of AMARC Asia Pacific, the regional assembly is held every four years. Registration for the conference will open shortly. For regular updates, please visit:
http://asiapacific.amarc.org/index.php?p=2_Conference_Asia_Pacific_2009
or contact the following for more information:

• AMARC Asia Pacific Regional Office, Kathmandu, Nepal, suman_basnet@asiapacific.amarc.org

· Ms. Divya Wesley, VOICES, Bangalore, India, divya.wesley@gmail.com, voices4all@gmail.com

• AMARC International secretariat, Montreal, Canada, secretariat@si.amarc.org,

About AMARC:

The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) is a global non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement worldwide. Its goal is to support and advocate for the development of community and participatory radio on the principles of solidarity and international cooperation. Created in 1983, AMARC now has nearly 3000 members in 106 countries. Its international office is located in Montreal, Canada, and has regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
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Suman Basnet
Regional Coordinator
AMARC Asia Pacific
Kathmandu, Nepal

Phone: +977 1 5554811 ,Fax: +977 1 5521714 , http://www.asiapacific.amarc.org/

(Suman Basnet via cr-india ml)