For the first time since 1998 a strategic plan document is in the offing for the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD). It is being drafted by experts from the elected SPT member countries during 18th General Conference and Associated Meetings in Paro, Bhutan last year. The elected member countries are Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Iran, the Philippines, Korea, and Thailand.

Based on the resolution of the General Conference, the Strategic Plan Team (SPT) Experts’ Group Meeting took place from 19th to 21st February at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The six experts were from Cambodia, India, the Philippines, Korea, and Thailand. The experts from China, Fiji, and Iran could not make it to the meeting.

During the opening, the new President of AIBD General Conference, Mr. Rajeev Singh, from India said the broadcasting industry was going through rapid transformation and AIBD’s role must also change to meet the demands of its members. He urged the experts to brainstorm every key aspect of changing media landscape and come up with a good document, which will guide AIBD and ultimately benefit its members.

The Director, Ms Philomena Gnanapragasam, presented the Institute’s SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis so that the experts could have clear insight while drafting on the document.

The Special Advisory Officer to AIBD, Mr. Jung Soeb BAE, presented an overview of the Strategic Plan Team. Mr Bae said several attempts were made to revisit and revise the 1998 SPT document but to no avail. “I was entrusted this responsibility ever since I joined the Secretariat on secondment. With the help of experts from my country, Korea, I came up with a document in 2018. However, due to various reasons it wasn’t endorsed by the GC,” he said.

Mr Bae added that the 1998 document was drafted during the initial cyber age. “Now, we are in the fourth industrial revolution”. He said that after so many years a roadmap is being made by the members, for the members.

The Director General of Philippine Broadcasting Service and Vice-President of AIBD GC, Mr Rizal Giovanni Aportadera Jr, said the session was worth every minute spent on sharing and inputs. “We are happy with the outcome, considering the time given. We hope that this effort would greatly benefit the Organisation”.

“Learnt a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed the esteemed company of some of the best brains in the region,” said Mr. Siva Kumar, Assistant Director of Programmes (Sports and International Relations), All India Radio, India. He was the moderator of the meeting.

The rapporteur of the meeting, Mr. Sungwoong Kim, a Research Fellow and Policy Analyst from KISDI (Korea Information Society Development Institute), said “I hope our efforts can be a valuable legacy in AIBD history”.

Ms Wanpen Upton, Executive Director of Foreign Service, Government Public Relations Department of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT), said that it was a great experience for her having joined a talented team ‘mapping out proposed AIBD future direction’.

The document will be further reviewed and will be presented during the 19th General Conference in Laos in August for endorsement.

 The 1998 SPT Document

The 1998 document, known as the ‘Strategic Plan for the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development’ was endorsed by the 24th Governing Council (as it was known then) in Tehran, Iran. The SPT members were from China, Fiji, Germany, Malaysia, and Pakistan.

The document provided a holistic roadmap for AIBD, keeping in mind the needs and requirements of that time.