Media Center

Water Awareness Program
ADB National Media Workshop on Water - Malaysia
(to coincide with the 1^st Malaysian Water Week)

6 June 2004
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Post Workshop Statement

Background

In May 2002, ADB launched the Water Awareness Program (WAP) to, among other things, increase public awareness and understanding of water issues. Among WAP's target groups are the journalists who are in a strategic position to provide the public with such knowledge.

In February 2003, ADB collaborated with the World Bank to conduct a capacity building workshop for East Asian journalists. This workshop was designed to further the journalists' knowledge and understanding of water issues. The result was extensive and informed media coverage on water concerns, and the fostering of a journalist community in the region.

ADB intends to build upon and sustain this success by conducting media workshops on water at the national level. The first of these workshops were conducted in Viet Nam and Thailand in 2003. The next two workshops were held in India- Chennai and New Delhi.

In March 2004, the Malaysian Water Partnership (MyWP) suggested that another media workshop take place immediately prior to the 1^st Malaysian Water Week and GWP- Consulting Partners Meeting, scheduled on 7-12 and 11-12 June 2004, respectively. A day-long media workshop on water issues will be held on 6 June, enabling journalists to take what they have learned out of the workshop and utilize them while attending the Malaysian Water Week.

Objectives

• To increase the understanding of journalists towards water issues affecting Malaysia
• To strengthen and increase ADB Water Awareness Program's journalist network, which already totals 150 members
• Help maximize coverage of Malaysian Water Week and the GWP Consulting Partners Meeting.

Features

The workshop will feature speakers from civil society and public and private sectors. There will also be opportunities for discussion and debate.

Among the topics to be covered are:

• Water for All - Setting the Scene: A pan-Asian look at Water Issues and Challenges
• Water and Governance - National Water Policies in Malaysia
• Integrated Water Resources Management in Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia: What can we learn from each other?
• Increasing Water Connections to the Urban and Rural Poor

Venue

The workshop will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Renaissance Hotel. The contact details are

Program

• Participation in Malaysian Water Week [PDF: 95Kb | 1 Page]
• Media Workshop [PDF: 130Kb | 4 Pages]

Participants

• List [PDF: 19Kb | 4 Pages]

Contact

Paul Fisher
Fax No.: +44 1285 713 071
E-mail : pfisher@timcullen.com