A global network of indigenous television broadcasters will convene its first interim council meeting in Ireland in August. The development of an international alliance was a major outcome of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference – WITBC ’08 – hosted by New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster, Māori Television, in March this year. The three-day conference gave delegates a forum to discuss the need, benefits, scope and nature of a World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Network (WITBN) which will promote indigenous broadcasting at the highest levels internationally and foster closer relationships between broadcasters. Click here to read the publicity release.
The inaugural meeting of the WITBN interim council will be hosted by Irish language television channel TG4 in Galway, Ireland, on Tuesday August 5 and Wednesday August 6. Agenda items include the network and council structure, proposed activities, capacity and capability building opportunities, the establishment of a website and the schedule and action plan for future meetings. TG4 has been on air since late 1996 and is the most positive and high profile government policy for the Irish language for the past 50 years. Chief executive Pól Ó Gallchóir – who was a featured guest speaker at WITBC ’08 – has spent more than 30 years working in public service broadcasting in Ireland. Click here to read more about TG4.
Broadcasters from Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Taiwan and Wales indicated their interest at WITBC ’08 in participating in an interim council to carry forward the idea of formalising a network. Māori Television was then tasked to develop a draft planning document for the establishment of WITBN. This document provides a framework to establish WITBN in its simplest form, whilst still fulfilling the objectives and intent of a global network of indigenous television broadcasters and other stakeholders, working together to achieve common goals. Any feedback and suggestions for further agenda items for the inaugural WITBN meeting would be appreciated. Click here to read the WITBN report.
Delegates who attended WITBC ’08 will be sent a special DVD collection capturing the insightful presentations and thought-provoking discussions that unfolded over the three days of this milestone gathering. A total of six DVDs make up the collection and include the following sessions: Chief Judge Joe Williams (Waitangi Tribunal); Simon Molaudzi (South African Broadcasting Corporation); John Walter Jones (S4C, Wales); Jean LaRose (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Canada); Jim Mather (Māori Television, New Zealand); Shaun Brown (SBS Corporation, Australia); Sylvia Feng (Public Television Service, Taiwan); Pól Ó Gallchóir (TG4, Ireland); Patricia Turner (National Indigenous Television, Australia); Margaret Mary Murray (BBC Scotland); and Dr Saul Berman (IBM Global Business Services). Click here to view their presentations or click here to view the photo library. For a copy of the DVD, email vanessa.horan@maoritelevision.com.
A reminder that Taiwan Indigenous Television – supported by the Public Television Service – will host the next World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference in 2010 followed by S4C in Wales in 2012 and APTN in Canada in 2014. The vision for the event was that it would become a permanent, international conference that would unify, strengthen and promote indigenous broadcasters throughout the world. The confirmation of not one but three host broadcasters in the years to come demonstrates a unified commitment to meet and review our collective progress and plan for the challenges ahead. Click here to read more about TITV and PTS.
Māori Television invites delegates at WITBC ’08 to share their thoughts on the recent conference. Your feedback will be used to assess the overall effectiveness of the event and a summary of all feedback received will be provided to the hosts of WITBC 2010, Taiwan. Please take the time to provide us with your thoughts so that the World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference can further develop as a valuable, useful and important forum for indigenous broadcasters. Click here to fill in the feedback form or email
for more information.