Ministerial presentations and the AMIC Distinguished Forum will ensure an exciting official launch for AMIC’s 22nd international conference in Yogyakarta.

Indonesia’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Roy Suryo Notodiprodjo, and the Minister of Information and Communication, Hon. Tifatul Sembiring, will be honoured guests at the conference inaugural session on Thursday 4th July. They will provide both a special message to conference delegates and a keynote address.

The Ministers will be joined in the opening session by Dr. Pratikno, Rector of Universitas Gadjah Mada, the host for the conference, and AMIC Chairman Dr. Ang Peng Hwa from Singapore.

Some of Indonesia’s most influential media leaders and experts then take to the stage for the AMIC Distinguished Forum, a session in which leading CEO’s from the Indonesian radio, television, print and telecommunications sectors will highlight the remarkable transformation of Indonesia’s media in recent years.

Founder and Commissioner of Trans TV, Ishadi S.K., legendary Kompas Gramedia Group CEO, Jakob Oetama, Radio Republik Indonesia President, Rosarita Niken Widiastuti, Director of Planning with PT Telkomsel, Edward Ying, and renowned Universitas Gadjah Mada academic, Dr. Kuskridho Ambardi, will give their views on the Transformation of Indonesian Media: challenges and opportunities.

Selamat Datang

Welcome to Indonesia! That’s the call from Universitas Gadjah Mada, hosts for this year’s AMIC international conference in Yogyakarta.

Under the guidance of UGM Rector, Professor Pratikno, the conference team from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences has worked strenuously to ensure that every aspect of the AMIC conference will proceed smoothly and effortlessly.
UGM conference team leader, Dr. Hermin Indah Wahyuni, has assured participants that they will enjoy a truly rich intellectual and cultural experience over the four days of the conference.

AMIC conference co-ordinator, Associate Professor Rachel Khan, has recently returned from a visit to Yogyakarta and is impressed with arrangements.

"The hotel venue is splendid and all other conference planning is well advanced", she said. "The opening and closing ceremonies will be held in the Amarta Ballroom, with parallel sessions in rooms close to each other elsewhere in the hotel".

Logistical information has now been forwarded to all conference delegates and AMIC members. It gives useful airport arrival and departure details, as well as visa advice, taxi travel, hotel arrangements and conference matters. The information letter is available here.

Malaysian Students Visit AMIC

Research development and AMIC’s operations have been studied by a party of some 30 communication and media studies students from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Malaysia

Led by AMIC member and UiTM Faculty, Associate Professor Dr. Kiranjit Kaur, the group visited AMIC in Singapore and heard about AMIC’s work and publications activities.

The UiTM students also visited the NTU Media Library and the WAN-IFRA Newsplex complex. Both facilities are located within the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at the NTU, AMIC’s host organization.

AMIC Books Displayed in Mumbai

A set of AMIC publications is now available for use by students and staff of the S.N.D.T Women’s University in Mumbai, India.

The books, currently on display in the university’s Jumu campus library, were provided by AMIC Board member, Dr. Binod C. Agrawal, and joint AMIC Country Representative, Prof. Chandrabhanu Pattanayak.

S.N.D.T Women’s University was established in 1916 and is recognized as the first women’s university in India. University Faculty member and joint AMIC Country Representative, Dr. Mira Desai, has said that she is discussing with library staff the possibility of creating a media resource centre which would have a dedicated AMIC corner.

Passing of Renowned Indonesian Communicator

Veteran Indonesian journalist and educator, Dr. Djafar Assegaff, has passed away. He was 83 years of age.

AMIC Indonesia Country Representative, Dr. Zulkarimein Nasution, said that Dr. Assegaff, formerly a Faculty member of the communication department at Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta, had been ill for some time.

Philippines media identity, Professor Crispin Maslog, recalled that he and Dr. Assegaff were founding members of AMIC in the 1970s. In particular, he remembered the first AMIC Travelling Seminar which took them both, along with other Asian educators, to eleven Asian countries in 1971.

In subsequent trips to Indonesia, Professor Maslog said he met Dr. Assegaff when he was assistant editor of the newspaper Merdeka and, later, as Managing Director of the ANTARA News Agency.

“To Djafar, goodbye my friend” said a saddened Professor Maslog. “I had hoped we would meet one more time in Indonesia next month. But such is life.”

If you need any further help, please email us at newsletter@amic.org.sg.