CBA 2010 General Conference

Conference Programme

Wed 21st April

29. Public Service Broadcasting : Role, Relevance and Future.

Keynote speech by Baljit Singh Lalli, CEO, Prasar Bharati

Chair: Sonya Haggie, GM Sales Marketing Communications, Maori TV, New Zealand

0900 - 0930

Partnerships between public broadcasters and governments can work By Antoinette Lazarus, Johannesburg, South Africa
The CEO of India’s Public Service Broadcaster, Prasar Bharti, Baljit Singh Lalli says it is possible and desirable to have a creative partnership with the Government.
It is generally said that the public service broadcaster needs to keep the government at arms length, but, Lalli feels differently. He’s of the opinion that a partnership between the two can work if “ the public service broadcaster retains an independent editorial policy, has complete control of all operational and tactical decisions, but partners with the government in raising levels of awareness about public programmes, their implementation and impact”. click to read more
Lalli adds that disseminating information about public services and discussing public issues is at the heart of democracy. “This creative partnership between the public broadcaster and the government, whenever forged, helps in encouraging and sustaining a wholesome and healthy dialogue between citizens and those who administer public policies and programmes.”
Lalli says that in India there are a number of socially oriented governmental initiatives. “Of course, we cannot promote any political creed or party or ideology, the aim simply is to create awareness among people and give balanced inputs to our citizens,” he says.
Digital Era Technology and bridging the digital divide was also given a platform in Lalli’s address. He says the digital era heralds opportunities for public broadcasters so that the new technologies can be adapted to provide more diverse, richer and faster content. Parsar Bharti like many other public broadcasters is also in the process of providing TV on mobile phones, digitalizing it’s network and using new media in a more substantive manner.
Lalli says Parsar Bharti hopes to reduce its dependence on government funding as the use of new media would open several new streams of revenue. “The plan is to go in for public-private-platform model on a revenue sharing basis.”
PBS mandate The role of the Public Service Broadcaster was again stressed in the last session of the CBA conference, with Lalli urging delegates not to forget that the public broadcaster’s role is to ‘engage in developing tastes, promote understanding, spread literacy and development and create an informed debate, empowering the disadvantaged’. click to close

30. CBA AGM and Elections

This session is open to Heads of Delegation of CBA member organisations. Affiliate may attend but do not have a vote.

Chair: Abubakar Jijiwa, CBA President

0930 - 1030

Coffee 1030 - 1100

31. CBA Discussion

• CBA News Exchange: Elizabeth Smith
• Training and Attachments: Jasmine Dhariwal
• Programme Bank: Sally-Ann Wilson, who introduces Ferdinand von Strantz, of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Head of Music Department, T.E.A.M Marketing AG, Switzerland.
• The Institute for Broadcasting Development in Kuala Lumpur: Javad Mottaghi, Director, AIBD, Kuala Lumpur. Chair: Elizabeth Smith, Secretary-General, CBA

32. Brief meeting of the new CBA Committee

1200 - 1230

The following are for Group B, in Ballroom 3

Technical Workshop in co-operation with CTO and Sentech

Chair: Lynn Mansfield, Chairperson, SADIBA and General Manager Distribution, SABC

33. The future and advantages of DTT transmission networks

Speaker: Thato Toko, Executive: Legal and Regulatory, Sentech

0900 - 1000

33a. Lessons learned - DTTV Pay TV Trial

Speaker: Mr Dave Hagan, MNET

Download slides (PDF 217kb)

0930 - 1000

33b. Evaluating and selecting a Standard for Digital Terrestrial Television

Speaker: Gerhard Petrick, SADIBA

Download slides (PDF 1,560kb)

1000 - 1030

Coffee 1030 - 1100

34. The dividends of a successful spectrum plan in migrating from analogue to digital television

Speaker: Thato Toko, Executive: Legal and Regulatory, Sentech

1100 - 1130

35. Migration from analogue to terrestrial television to digital terrestrial television

From a broadcasting signal distribution point of view, a South African case study.

Download slides (PDF 1,228kb)

1130 - 1200

35a. Discussion

1200 - 1230

The following are afternoon sessions

Soweto Trip

Buses leave for Soweto, with a light snack on board and a late lunch there.

Visit includes Hector Pieterson Memorial and Mandela House Museum in Vilakazi Street.

Buses leave to return at 1700 and are due to arrive back by 1800. One bus will leave Soweto early just for those with flights to catch.

1300

SABA half-day summit

1300 | By invitation

CTO conference

Opens at the nearby Southern Sun Grayston Hotel, Sandton, and continues till 23 April

1400

2010 CBA General Conference

Conference Programme
16 \ 17 \ 18 \ 19 \ 20 \ 21 April

Press Releases

Round Up

Speeches

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