Newspaper & Mailroom
Publish Asia 2010 moves to Kuala Lumpur
Thursday 27. May 2010 - The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has announced that its 10th annual Publish Asia conference, which was to be held in Bangkok this month, will now take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 3 to 5.
Publish Asia 2010, the major pan-Asian publishing conference, was originally planned to be held on 11 to 13 May in the Thai capital. But the violence that erupted at the end of March forced the postponement of the event, and recent developments led to the change in venue to Kuala Lumpur.
“We had hoped that a peaceful settlement to the political crisis would be possible. Regretfully, the present situation in Bangkok is not conducive for an international event like Publish Asia” declared Pichai Chuensuksawadi, Editor-in-Chief of Post Publishing and Chairman of the WAN-IFRA Asian Committee.
Thomas Jacob, Managing Director of WAN-IFRA for Greater Asia, said: “we feel terribly sorry for the difficult times Thailand is currently going through. Thai publishers, tourism authorities and Thai Airways had provided an overwhelming support for organizing Publish Asia, and it is with great regret that we find ourselves forced to move Publish Asia out of Bangkok this year.”
WAN-IFRAs Publish Asia 2010 will celebrate its tenth anniversary in Malaysia, one of the most exciting newspaper markets in Asia. Newpapers are the media of choice for Malaysian advertisers – taking more than half of the market — and leading publishers recently announced record profits. New publications — both print and online — are blossoming and introducing new innovation and creativity.
“The newspaper industry in Asia needs the annual forum to learn from each other and exchange ideas,” said Tan Sri Makaruddin Mohdamed Hashim, Executive Chairman of Utusan Melayu and a member of WAN-IFRAs Asian Committee.
“We will support WAN-IFRA in its effort to host the event in Kuala Lumpur, and ensure its success. We look forward to welcoming our fellow Asian publishers and industry professionals to Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Most of the speakers announced for Bangkok in May have confirmed their participation at the new dates in Kuala Lumpur. The programme and registration information can be found at www.publishasia.com.
The event will take place at the newly refurbished Shangri-La hotel in the heart of Kuala Lumpurs “golden triangle.” The programme includes three concurrent conferences – CEO Conference, Newsroom Summit Asia and Printing Summit Asia – and will be accompanied by an Expo for suppliers and several learning workshops.