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Seminars, Webinars and Talks Issue no. 4 | 2022

The Future of Media To address this issue and to stimulate ideas from people in
the media industry, academicians, and also the university
By Dr. Mumtaz Aini Alivi students, a one-day seminar was organized by the Asia-
Pasific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) with
KISDI/KCC in Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, on December 1,
2022. The seminar covered a wide range of topics, such as
the relationship between the media and the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), technology trends and
disruptions, audience engagement, making content with
humanistic voices, and much more. Dr. Mumtaz Aini Alivi
and five PhD and Master's students from the Department
of Media and Communication Studies, UM were invited to
attend the conference. Others who joined the seminars
were media managers, editors, and human resources
managers from the media companies and agencies from
Malaysia and other countries.

Dr. Mumtaz with some of her PhD and master’s students at the Following the opening remarks by Ms. Philomena
seminar
Gnanapragasam, Director of AIBD, Ms. Young Joo Kim,
Rapid changes in the media landscape demand that Director of Korea Communication Commission (KCC)
media practitioners in the broadcasting industry remain delivered the keynote address. The mission of AIBD, an
relevant. The transformation from television to a digital international intergovernmental organization with 106
platform is crucial to the long-term survival of a media members, is to develop media through the creation of
organization in the world of new developing information policies and resources both locally and globally. The
channels. A reform in the broadcast television industry is hybrid event was attended by participants locally and
important to avoid obsolescence. internationally.

Talk by Professor David Huddart

Professor David Huddart of the Chinese University of Hong His work aims to reposition the Lake District as not just a
Kong is currently the External Programme Assessor for the site of natural beauty, but also as a cultural landscape.
English Department, FASS. In his capacity as Assessor, he Professor Huddart argued that “Rebanks’s writings and
spent 5 days, from 21 to 25 November, 2022, looking at the advocacy work make him an important figure in changing
Department’s BA and MA programmes, as well as cultural understanding of the Lake District, and also bring
observing classes and talking to students and staff. The him into controversies relating to ideas and practices of
Department also hosted him for lunch. rewilding, as well as questions about food security” – thus
bringing discussions of and attitudes towards the area
Professor Huddart took time out of his busy schedule to right up to date.
deliver a paper under the Department’s Lloyd Fernando
Seminar Series, on 25 November. His paper, entitled
“‘Shepherd-Author-Influencer’: James Rebanks’s Cultural
Landscape Memoir” took his audience through a number
of fresh and interesting ideas. The talk focused primarily on
the work of James Rebanks, a farmer, writer and, possibly,
influencer living in England’s Lake District.
Prof Huddart delivering his talks and a group photo with the English
For most of us, the Lake District is connected with 19th Department's members and others (below)
Century Romantic poets, whose work has helped shape
our understanding of what the Lake District is. Rebanks,
however, uses the genre of landscape memoir to try and
foster a rethinking of the Lake District. This area is a
renowned beauty spot, and was recognised in 2017 as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site – due, in large part, to
Rebanks’s advocacy work.

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