The keynote speakers at the 2009 Spry conference will be

Khin Maung Win
Executive Director and co-founder of Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway

After having participated in the student demonstrations for democracy in Burma in 1988, Khin Maung Win had to flee his native country. In Thailand, he joined the group “All Burma Students’ Democratic Front” as director of the Department of Information. He became one of the founding members of Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), a media organization that seeks to provide accurate and unbiased news to the people of Burma. Democratic Voice of Burma was founded in Oslo in 1992. You can read an article by Khin Maung Win in The Guardian.

Mika Lévesque
Regional agent for Asia at Rights & Democracy Montréal

Mika Lévesque is the regional agent for Asia at Rights & Democracy Montréal, an organization that aims to encourage and promote democracy across the world. After receiving a MA in Law and Diplomacy, she pursued doctoral studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston. Mika has lived for several years in Mexico, the Middle East, and Asia, of which five years in Indochinese refugee camps in Thailand.

The Graham Spry Fund for Public Broadcasting

In 1995, the Université de Montréal and Simon Fraser University started a program of annual conferences and academic activities that aim to promote public broadcasting. Ever since, this program has been made possible through generous donations provided by the family and friends of Graham Spry, who was a strong defender of public broadcasting in Canada.

Each year, at least one respected Canadian or foreign speaker is invited to visit the Université de Montréal or Simon Fraser University. This person spends several days on one of these universities’ campuses, gives the keynote Spry conference speech, participates in a special seminar, and/or engages in an academic exchange of ideas with professors and graduate students. Thus, the Graham Spry Fund aims to create an interest for questions related to public broadcasting and public media within the university community.

Graham Spry

During the 1930s in Canada, at the onset of public broadcasting, a number of citizens were concerned about the increasing impact of commercial radio. They therefore created the Canadian Radio League in order to promote broadcasting for the public. The founding father of the League was a Rhodes scholar in his thirties, Graham Spry.The campaign of the Canadian Radio League, which mobilized influential organizations and ordinary citizens in both English Canada and Quebec, was instrumental in convincing the government to create the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. For the rest of his life, Graham Spry remained an effective advocate of public broadcasting, never hesitating to speak out whenever he observed government or broadcasters failing to live up to their responsibilities.

Today, as we stand on the threshold of what many see as a new era in mass communication, it is pertinent to recall the public purpose of broadcasting.

Please click here for the Google map

The conference will take place in Room D-550 of Pavillon Marie-Victorin at the Université de Montréal.

It is easy to reach the building by metro on the blue line, Édouard-Montpetit station, exit Pavillon Marie-Victorin. Once inside, follow the signs to find Room D-550

Adress:
Département de Communication
Pavillon Marie-Victorin
90 Vincent-d'Indy
Outremont QC H2V 2S9

You can obtain more information by visiting the following websites:

Rights & Democracy
Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan organization that aims to promote human rights and democratic institutions across the world.

Le Fond Graham Spry/Graham Spry Fund
The Graham Spry Fund archives allow you to access information about previous Spry conferences.

Burma VJ
Burma VJ is a film directed by Anders Østergaard. The documentary centers on the events related to revolution organized by Burmese monk in 2007, and the ways in which citizen journalists tried to capture the demonstrations.

Democratic Voice of Burma
Democratic Voice of Burma is an organization that aims to inform the Burmese population about the current situation in Burma through the use of a satellite television broadcasting. This website allows you to view their broadcasts directly online.

Please visit this website later for more information about the situation in Burma.