By Lynette Lee Corporal

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Dec 12 (TerraViva) – The diversity of views at the Mekong Media Forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand and the frankness which with some touchy topics were discussed, from China’s behaviour in the Mekong region to the situation in Burma and how journalists make their way through sometimes tricky media terrain were among the hallmarks of the just-ended forum, participants say. Continue Reading

By Stanislaus Jude Chan

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Dec 12 (TerraViva) – Yasmin Tang, executive director of Probe Media Foundation that co-organised the Mekong Media Forum, promised a “visual treat” to wrap up the proceedings at the end of the forum on Dec. 12. And a visual treat it was, as the Chiang Mai-based performing group Wandering Moon presented a theatrical extravaganza entitled ‘Reborn’.

With ingenious play on colours, lights and shadows, the troupe kept the audience enthralled as the four-day forum was brought to a close.

To be sure, the performance was as abstract as it was fascinating. Weaving lights in a multitude of striking colours; dancing cardboard cut-outs expertly wielded by puppeteers behind a shrouded veil; and a performer springing from her hiding place, an impossibly tiny light-box that lay in the foreground inconspicuously until that moment, midway through the show.

It was a shadow-puppet show with a difference. And it was a perfect, very appropriate, ending to the Mekong Media Forum. While considerably less abstract, the forum was no less fascinating.

Over the past three and a half days, a steady stream of participants – including sponsors, supporters, partners, speakers, delegates, fellows, volunteers, documenters, translators, technical staff and organisers – thronged the rooms and common areas at the conference venue. Comprising people from the six countries in the Mekong region – Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – as well as a healthy dose of participants from outside the area, the myriad of different cultures and languages guaranteed discussions were often vibrant and colourful.

Behind the scenes, a flurry of activity as organisers scrambled to ensure the sessions ran smoothly. From translators and documenters, to technicians and volunteers, each quietly going unnoticed about their duties, preferring to let the speakers, delegates and issues take centre stage, in front of the spotlight.

The issues laid out during the Mekong Media Forum were important; these are issues that affect us directly. But, like the light-box in the foreground during the performance, these issues are often overlooked, especially by external audiences, but often, even by ourselves, as we get caught up in the more exciting, mainstream activities that demand our attention. And so we forget the marginalised, who lie unnoticed, even though they are right in front of our eyes.

‘Reborn’ speaks of unknown horrors, of bleeding hearts and free-flowing tears, reflecting the challenges faced by Mekong journalists. And as we turn the page, the pain and suffering transforms – with a little help – into joy and the freedom to take flight, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Likewise, the Mekong Media Forum has been a step forward, towards creating a desirable media environment at a time of social and economic change. Hopefully, it has inspired us to be “reborn”, as with the closing performance, in our struggles to overcome challenges facing the media in the region.

As the curtain closes on the Mekong Media Forum, we look forward to the birth of a new venue, from within, for Mekong journalists.

By Johanna Son

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (TerraViva) – Powerful neighbour. A rising power. Old friend. Big, secretive investor. Big boy of the region.

These were some of the terms participants at a talk-show format discussion at the Mekong Media Forum used when asked to share the images of China they get from the media. Continue Reading

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Dec 12 (TerraViva) – When it comes to reporting about their neighbouring countries, journalists in Thailand’s mainstream media display a national security bias, often presenting a distorted view of reality and reflecting some prejudices against them. Continue Reading

By Joel Chong

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (TerraViva) – No, it’s not that odd buzzing in your ears you get from sleeping with your earphones on.Perched like small chickens in little grey booths are the Mekong Media Forum’s tireless translators stringing out sentences faster than you can say ‘What did he say?’

“Sometimes, when they (participants) start talking, they don’t really remember there are six other languages working in the background (catching up),” said Lin Zixin, our Mandarin translator from Singapore. Continue Reading

By Lynette Lee Corporal

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Dec 12 (TerraViva) — The new media has created a space for citizens in the Mekong region yearning to give free rein to their desire for expression, bringing about a force never before seen or heard in the wide, wide virtual world and elsewhere.

Continue Reading

CHIANG MAI, Dec 11  (TerraViva) – Efforts to get more Mekong authors published are being complicated by the downturn in the publishing industry, still-young publishing cultures, readers’ tastes and the challenges of working in English. Continue Reading

By Nguyen Kim Ngan

This question dawned on me when I took a boat along the Mekong River, one of the biggest rivers in Asia that is shared by six countries, namely China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Continue Reading

Coping with a wide variety of limitations has become a way of life for Mekong journalists, who have developed ways of coping with them in a host of pragmatic ways.

These limitations include challenges from government and business institutions running media entities, and commercialisation. Continue Reading

Media coverage of pandemics across the Mekong region has been a learning curve for journalists, as they struggle to understand hitherto unknown viruses, keep their audiences abreast of the latest public health emergencies and give them correct and preventive information. Continue Reading