I was in Manila, Philippine for four days, April 18 to 22, to participate in the conference called Free Expression in Asian Cyberspace organized by South East Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). The conference was held in a time when the people’s movement in Nepal was as its height.
Via By Jove!
Kunda Dixit, the editor and publisher of Nepali Times, was one of the speakers whose presentation was on Nepal and how the internet, and other media, saved the nation from disappearing after the Royal Coup.
I got chance to meet with many bloggers from the Asia who are facing more challenging job than writing on the web. Bloggers from China, Vietnam, Cambodia and even Singapore are being kept under tight control by the regime and after listening to all of them, I felt like we are far more in better position and in less danger while doing journalism or blogging.
I also met Rebecca MacKinnon and Ethan Zuckerman, the co-founders of the Global Voices, and had a few chances to chat about Nepal with them. Also it was great to talk with Andrew Lih and others about Nepal. It was a learning experience for me; and recognition as a blogger and when the conference completed, I was full of ideas for new projects.
The most disturbing thing for me and for Kunda dai during the seminar was that we were missing what’s happening in the country. Whenever we got chances we checked emails and sites for news on Nepal and shared it with each other almost always ending with ‘we should have stayed back in the country.’
Last word should be on Roby Alampay, the executive director of SEAPA. I was hoping he would be a middle-aged man with spectacles but he turned out to be a young, handsome guy with a smiling face. That made me wonders if he was the same when he introduced himself to me on the first day’s dinner.
The official blogs are here and here where all the great presentations can be downloaded.
