Online registrations are now open for the inaugural World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference to be hosted by Māori Television in Auckland from March 26-28, 2008. Leaders, producers and planners involved in indigenous and public television must register before October 30 this year to receive a special early bird rate. Register online.
A member of the original advisory board that developed the concept for Canada’s first Aboriginal television network will be a featured guest speaker at WITBC ‘08. Jean LaRose – who was appointed chief executive of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) in 2002 – was previously the media relations officer and director of communications for the Assembly of First Nations.
Australia's multicultural and multilingual public broadcaster, SBS (Special Broadcasting Service), will also be represented at the three-day conference. Managing director Shaun Brown, who is another featured guest speaker, previously worked at the BBC and ABC and has spent much of his career in New Zealand, rising to senior executive positions from a strong background in television news and current affairs.
WITBC’ 08 will feature internationally renowned speakers who are industry experts in the fields of broadcasting, media and indigenous languages; a conference dinner to honour the contribution of indigenous broadcasting; and the launch of a World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network. The programme of events will soon be published on the conference website www.witbc.org