This activity, which the ABU has been carrying out, with the support of the HBF, for 12 years sees young active programme producers and directors screen and discuss items which they offer for exchange.Each year up to 900 items are exchanged during the course of the meeting.

In July 2002, more than 40 directors and producers took part in the meeting, which was once again held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ABU members are encouraged to send the same participants to this event every year, as one of the objectives of the meeting is the long term training of the participants.

Ms Kesang Dorjee, one of the participants of the last year’s meeting is a director in charge of children’s and youth programmes in Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS). She has only two years experience, as the BBS is just three years old. The staff that are recruited to BBS usually have no formal training in TV production and experience is only gained in the field. Therefore, except for a handful of TV training courses, it is at workshops such as the ABU’s exchange meeting & workshop where they can gain exposure to other producers from the region; watching their programmes and learning various new styles of production.

Ms Dorjee said “ That is why the meeting not only gave me ideas on how to progress in the future but also enabled our station to receive and offer programmes through the exchange. These exchanged programmes, in categories ranging from children’s cartoons and stories, nature/animals and how things are made in diffrent countries give a station such as ours an opportunity to screen them within our local programmes. I feel that our programmes are enriched by these additional culturally diverse short progarmmes.

I believe that there is great potential and challenge for BBS to start reaching out to the under 18 year olds (estimated to be 40% of the country’s population). In time, we hope to recruit more children’s programme producers to increase our weekly half hour children’s slot to at least an hour over the next two to three years. Within this programming, we would utilize the exchanged materials of the ABU meeting.”

It is a fact that there are many problems we are facing originated from so called “diversity” (different cultures, languages, religions in each countries) while it obviously provokes the participants with new ideas and different perspectives on programme content and production. In 1999, the ABU began exchanging items with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and last year also with the Union of National Radio and Television Organisations of Africa (URTNA).

Ms Dorjee said “ the most valuable advantage in the exchange for me is that I have had the opportunity to network with other directors and producers in the Asia-Pacific region, exchanging information throughout the year whilst our station also received many good quality children’s items.”

The ABU will organise the 12th meeting and workshop in July this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ms Dorjee is planning to bring in items that incorporate the new ideas learned at the last years meeting.