Monday, 19 October 2009
11:00 – 12:30
Chiangmai Room III, 2nd Floor, ECC

The founder of the news website Malaysiakini will consider the new opportunities for using digital news media for social transformation.

Facilitator: Steven Gan
Steven Gan began his career in journalism in Hong Kong 15 years ago. In 1996, Gan was arrested while covering the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor in Kuala Lumpur. In prison he was adopted by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. Three years later he launched in Malaysia the country’s first and only independent media, Malaysiakini (Malaysia Now). Since it went live, and despite police raids and severe political harassment, Malaysiakini has become one of the most influential news websites in the country and in Asia. Malaysiakini received the Free Media Pioneer 2001 award from the International Press Institute. In 2007, Gan was selected as a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Media Council.