4M Jakarta Forum 2014 : new working experiences, new tools, new ways of organizing

4M Jakarta Forum 2014 : new working experiences, new tools, new ways of organizing

How online media are changing journalism and news production in South-East Asia?

Development and deployment of the Internet in Asia, coupled with a strong economic growth and important political reforms are changing the way people in South-East Asia are communicating and interacting. With an important and fast-growing penetration rate for the Internet and smartphones and half of the world social network users in Asia, access to information is rapidly changing in South-East Asia.

A new media ecosystem is emerging, in which innovative editorial forms are being experimented. The border between professional and citizen journalists is becoming increasingly blurred. Media actors are exploring new tools for creating revenues while also engaging and interacting with the public in more creative ways.

How are journalists handling this transition towards a new media environment? How are they reorganizing their work towards the creation of more collaborative experiences? Which tools are citizen journalists and bloggers using to generate content? Can new media encourage the production of a journalism more connected to local realities and communities? How are old and new producers of media content rethinking their economic models to confront the new pressures of a rapidly changing market?

The on-going transformations constitute at the same time a challenge and an opportunity for those working in the media field.

In this context of ever-changing technology and web use, CFI, the French operator in media cooperation started in 2011, its 4M Programme. This programme aims to support and foster professionalism among the various players of the traditional media and the new stakeholders. It helps to forge a network of professionals while identifying and disseminating technological and editorial innovations through international conferences, regional forums and local workshops.

After the Regional Forums organized since 2012 in Tunis, Belgrade, Abidjan, Cairo, Nairobi and Tbilisi, CFI is organizing its first 4M Forum in South-East Asia with the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)and the French Institute in Indonesia, in Jakarta on 23rd and 24th of September 2014.

The 4M Jakarta Forum 2014 will gather more than a hundred speakers and participants from all over South-East Asia and Europe in order to discuss how online media are changing journalism in the region with themes related to its local context. Professional journalists, bloggers, media entrepreneurs, creators of start-ups, and citizen journalists will share their experiences, their practical know-how and their ideas on the most recent developments in the field.
This forum, through debates, workshops and discussions will encourage feedback and innovation and provide an opportunity for networking among the different players of the field. A hackathon will also be organized on the evening of the 23rd of September, mixing the interested participants (media professionals, journalists, programmers, people from the civil society, etc...) willing to imagine and start working on an application that they feel is missing in their environment.


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