Technical workshop 3

THE third and final day of the conference is devoted to learning tools and mechanisms for protecting Asian cyberspace. Nart Villeneuve of the Toronto-based Citizen Lab and Ethan Zuckerman of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School are currently handling the day-long technical sessions on two levels:

• first, knowing if you’re being blocked, censored or monitored, and

• second, knowing the Web tools for anonymizing and getting around blocking, filtering and monitoring

Their presentation can be accessed here. Or listen to the first half of the presentation: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Technical workshop 2

ANDREW Lih kept everybody glued to their seats beyond the duration of his session with a very interesting presentation on wikis and online collaboration tools. The conference in fact envisions the use of such online tools for continuing collaboration and discussions, and the building of an Asian network for the defense of free expression in cyberspace.

The presentation can be downloaded here. Or you can listen to the audio files: Parts 1 and 2.

Session 7: Protecting cyberspace

HOW can independent online journalists, bloggers, podcasters and news providers protect themselves?

Melinda Quintos de Jesus, executive director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), reminded conference participants of the need for ethical standards and professionalism. View here presentation here.

Dini Widiastuti, Article 19 Asia programme officer, urged delegates to be aware of their rights, particularly Article 19 as applied to cyberspace. Her presentation ca be downloaded here.

Dinesh Nair of SEACEM encouraged everyone to consider hackers as their friends, citing Malaysiakini’s experience with its "volunteer protectors." Download his presentation here.

Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and Southeast Asian Alliance (SEAPA) briefly introduced their existing projects and programs aimed at protecting bloggers, online writers, and cyberspace in general.

Session 6: Non-legal, non-technological pressures on the Internet

Session 6 focused on pressures on the Internet outside the realm of technology and the law. JV Rufino, editor of the Philippine news portal inq7.net tackled the economic pressures on the online news media. Download his presentation here.

Global Voices Online's Rebecca MacKinnon discussed the business of the Internet, pointing to lessons that can be learned from Google, Yahoo!, MSN in China. Her presentation can be viewed here.

Owais Aslam Ali, director of the Pakistan Press Foundation, talked about the economic factors that affect access to the Internet, emphasizing the need to make it work for "offline communities."

Session 5: The battle for the Internet — laws

FOR Session 5, the discussion shifted to the legal framework that governments are employing to curtail freedom of expression online. Dini Widiastuti of Article 19 first gave a scan of traditional media and insult laws affecting the Internet in Asia. Download her presentation here.

James Gomez then tackled Singapore's defamation laws. His presentation can be accessed here.

Next was Malaysian blogger Jeff Ooi who discussed the whole gamut of anti-terrorism and national security laws affecting cyberspace. View his presentation here.

Session 4: The battle for the Internet — technology

DAY 2 of the conference carries the theme, "The Battle for the Internet." The first session was devoted to the use of technology. Isaac Mao talked about the much ballyhooed Great Firewall of China.

Dr. Awab Alvi, a practicing dentist in Karachi, shared the experience of his group, Don't Block the Blog, in its fight against Blogspot's wholesale blacklist of Pakistani blogs as a result of the controversy surrounding cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed in a bad light. His presentation can be viewed here.

Nart Villeneuve, technical research director of CitizenLab, discussed Open Net Initiative's findings on blocking and filtering in China, Burma, Singapore, Yemen, Iran. Download his presentation here. A lengthier version is available here.

Technical workshop 1

JEREMIAH Foo of the Southeast Asian Center for E-Media (SEACEM) gave an introduction to podcasting and multimedia blogging. Download his presentation here.

Session 3: The power of citizen journalism

FILIPINO journalist-blogger Manuel Quezon III started the third session by presenting "Tag-teaming against the President," a case study on how bloggers and the mainstream media in the Philippines kept a “banned” conversation going and online. His presentation can be downloaded here.

Andrew Lih, assistant professor and director of technology at the Journalism and Media Studies Center, University of Hong Kong, followed with a cursory look at independent blogging and podcasting in China. The presentation is downloadable here.

Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of the international citizens' media community Global Voices Online, concluded the session with a discussion of collaborative models for bloggers and mainstream media from around the world. Her presentation can be accessed here.

Session 2: Shaking up Asian cyberspace

STEVEN Gan, founder and editor of Malaysiakini.com, commenced the second session by sharing the Malaysiakini experience in circumventing traditional restrictions on print and broadcasting media. His presentation can be viewed here.

Chi Dang of the Free Journalists Association, talked about how the online media are enabling Vietnamese inside and outside the country to reach out to each other to keep their democratic aspirations in sync. Download her presentation here.

Thai online journalist Piyapong Phonpai spoke about the use of the Internet — blogging, podcasting, and online radio — in pursuit of political reform in Thailand. View his presentation here.

Session 1: Why the Internet is important to Asians

PROF. Ying Chan, director of the Journalism and Media Studies Center at the University of Hong Kong, started off with a description of the Asian Internet landscape — the Asian Internet usage/access vis-à-vis trends restrictions on traditional media; profiles, projections in Internet usage in Asia (from South Asia to Southeast Asia and China); and how the Internet has become a primary source of news and information in Asia. Download her presentation here.

Kunda Dixit, publisher of Nepali Times, talked about how the Internet is keeping Nepal from disappearing from the world map. His presentation is available here.

Sein Win of mizzima.com discussed how new technologies like Skype are allowing the Burmese people to coomunicate and exchange information though strict Internet access controls and content regulation imposed by the military government remain, particularly on matters pertaining to politics and the military rule. Download his presentation here.