Mixed Media/Medios Enteros is about the cultural, economic political and technical convergence that is changing traditional broadcasting. The conference will be organised around four central themes:
 

	Networks and exchanges - Until recently broadcast networks were the exclusive preserve of a few large national and international companies. With declining cost of satellite usage, improved Internet applications and increased bandwidth, new entrants are breaking into the field, establishing sub-regional and special interest networks of independent and community broadcasters. Can these emerging networks help bring about a more pluralist, democratic and counter hegemonic media?
	A new role for the audience - In 1932 Bertolt Brecht wrote: Radio could be the most wonderful public communication system imaginable… if it were capable, not only of transmitting, but also of receiving, of making the listener not only hear but also speak. Can the convergence of traditional broadcasting with new interactive communication technologies result in the more responsive and democratic media that Brecht hoped for? Or will it follow in the footsteps of so much open-line radio -- creating an illusion of participation behind which hides an increasingly inaccessible media?
	Next generation radio - Over the past year animated debates have been taking place between those who argue that radio will remain the most important media for the poor and new media proponents who argue that the broadcast monologue will be replaced by the Internet dialogue. But will convergence have an either/or result, or will the injection of the Internet's digital DNA turn next generation radio into an entirely new species?
	Globalisation and local media - The process of globalisation is marked with tension between the global and the local and by debates about whether convergence inhibits divergence or permits new voices to be heard. Is there still a role for local media? What are the contradictions inherent in local media's use of the tools of globalisation?

Within these four themes, questions to be examined include:
 

	What role can independent public service radio and television broadcasters have in extending the reach of the knowledge infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean?
	If the convergence of telecommunications and information technology is going to change the world as significantly as some believe, what are the implications of this for the 97% of the world's population that do not have direct access to the Internet? Will radio and television continue to have a role for those who do have access to the Internet?
	How can the Internet be used to build and strengthen networks and to exchange news and information among broadcasters?
	Do independent broadcasters have a responsibility to ensure that convergence will result in a greater rather than less diversity of voices and images?
	Can broadcasters make use of the Internet to make their own programming more interactive and meaningful to their listeners?
	What are the implications of the changing media environment for national sovereignty, local culture and regional integration?

The conference will also provide input to two other important international gatherings:
 

	The annual conference of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), which will also take place in Tampa, from September 26,27 and 28. Participants at Mixed Media/Medios Enteros will be invited to participate actively in the IIC conference.  .
	TV@globe://Adding Values in the Digital Era - Every year the United Nations hosts the World Television Forum in New York. This year it will take place November 16-17. A report on the deliberations and conclusions of Mixed Media/Medios Enteros will be presented.

Conference papers will be published in English and Spanish. 
 
 

Who will attend

The forty invited participants, primarily from Latin America and the Caribbean, represent a wide variety of experiences including traditional over-the-air radio and television, Internet webcasting, satellite networks, and Internet-based initiatives for linking and supporting diverse independent and public service broadcast initiatives for networking, news and information exchange, cultural programming, entertainment, research, and community development projects. 

While papers will be accepted in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, the working language of the conference will be English. A limited number of scholarships are available. Contact the organisers for information. 

See the Documents and Links pages for information about some of the participants.
 
 

Where

Tampa, Florida 
 
 

When

September 23 and 24. The conference is a prequel to the annual gathering of the International Institute of Communications (IIC). The IIC conference, which will also take place in Tampa, will be on September 26, 27 amd 28. 
 
 

Sponsors

The conference is hosted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and organised by Comunica. Additional support is provided by the IIC.
 
 

Contact

Comunica
info@ comunica.org
Kloksteeg 17B
2611 BL Delft 
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 15 278.8548
Fax: +31 20 882.6517