NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY will be holding a conference on Media and Political Change in Asia and The Middle East on 19-20 April 2012. The conference, to be attended by Asian journalists and policy analysts, is organised by The S Rajaratnam School of International Studies and Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information as part of The Temasek Foundation Asia Journalism Forum series.

Speakers at the conference are drawn from Asia and the Middle East, from the media, academia and activist movements. The conference will be held at the Traders Hotel, Singapore. The tentative programme of the conference is attached. We are pleased to invite you to attend the conference.

The conference is a response to the dramatic political upheavals in the Middle East (North Africa and West Asia) which have put popular movements in the spotlight. The organisers want to explore various dimensions of the media’s role in ground-up political change, ranging from grassroots pressure for reform to full-blown uprisings, both in the run-up to major upheavals and in their aftermaths. By comparing experiences across a wide range of Asian and Middle Eastern countries they hope to highlight key trends, opportunities and concerns that journalists and policy makers should be aware of. The conference will look at the power and limits of new media, the trend towards transparency and accountability, the changing role of mainstream media and how the media can contribute to a healthy democratic culture.

Please refer to the program for full details of the conference. Places are available on first-come-first-served-basis. Thank you.