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Source:
www.gov.sg |
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OPENING SPEECH BY DR LEE BOON
YANG, MINISTER FOR INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AT
THE OPENING OF ASIA MEDIA FESTIVAL 2007 / ASIA TELEVISION FORUM
2007, ON WEDNESDAY, 28 NOVEMBER 2007, 10:00AM AT SHANGRI-LA HOTEL |
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An Excerpt |
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One of the new areas where we see enormous
growth potential is interactive and digital media and video games. |
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According to industry reports, the worldwide
video game and interactive entertainment industry is expected to grow
from about US$29 billion in 2005 to as much as US$44 billion in 2011. |
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In Singapore, the nascent game industry has
grown from a handful just several years ago to some 30 companies today. |
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Home-grown companies such as Activate
Interactive, Boomzap Pte Ltd, NexGen and Mikoishi have made waves
internationally. Leading Japanese game developers Koei Entertainment and
Genki have also set up their office here to develop content for the
global market generating more buzz for our IDM sector. |
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International relations |
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Singapore has forged several international
co-production agreements and media MOUs with Australia, Canada, Japan,
Korea, New Zealand and various ASEAN countries. Several MOUs will be
inked at this AMF. |
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Just yesterday, Singapore and the
Philippines signed an agreement for media cooperation. The areas covered
include media policy and information exchange, training and HR
development, co-production and distribution and mutual exchanges. |
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Tomorrow, MDA will sign an MOU with Canal
France International to facilitate digital broadcasting training
collaborations and potential co-production projects between Singapore
and France. |
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Last year, we signed an MOU with the
National Film Board of Canada (NFB). This MOU led to the launch the
CROSS-MEDIA CHALLENGE - a competition to develop innovative projects
that harness the advantages of new technologies such as mobile and
broadband, for cross-platform delivery and multi-faceted audience
engagement. The winner will be announced at MIPTV in 2008. |
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We hope that such international
collaborations will inspire the production and distribution of more
quality media content that appeals to a global audience. We are
interested to forge more co-production agreements with like-minded
countries. We also hope that trade participants attending AMF will make
good use of this opportunity to build win-win business partnerships. |
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HDTV, Mobile TV and Asia Factual Forum |
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Singapore adopts a pro-enterprise outlook to
encourage industry players - both local and international - to test-bed
and deploy innovative media technologies and services here. |
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Early last year, MDA worked with industry
players to successfully kick-off a series of trials on High Definition
TV. Today, HDTV is available to Singapore households over free-to-air,
cable and Internet Protocol or IPTV. |
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We view the delivery of digital TV services
to mobile devices as a promising new way to deliver media services to
consumers anytime, anywhere. Hence, MDA has proposed a policy framework
to enable the early deployment of commercial mobile broadcasting. |
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MDA has launched a public consultation on
the proposed framework covering issues such as technology and service
standards. |
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Of course, carriage is nothing without
compelling content. A key strategy for MDA is to support the local media
industry to produce quality content for our home audience as well as
export. |
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The result is a growing slate of
made-by-Singapore content at international media markets like MIPTV and
MIPCOM such as Kylie Kwong: My China, Little Big Dreams, Festive Asia,
and Path of Typhoon. I must point out that most of these offerings are
in HDTV format. |
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The superior quality and sound offered by
HDTV lends itself well to the production of documentaries and factual
programmes. In fact, the growing factual industry presents opportunities
for Asian producers and documentary makers to interpret and tell stories
mined from our rich heritage and ancient civilisations. |
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I am therefore glad to note that one of the
highlights of AMF this year includes the inaugural Asia Factual Forum (AFF).
The AFF is a showcase of the latest, finest and richest content in the
documentary genre. It provides a platform for professional development
and business networking. AFF can help to develop Singapore as a regional
hub for co-production of factual content. |
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Centre for Content Protection |
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With digitalisation of content, intellectual
property protection will become increasingly critical, particularly in
safeguarding the rich cultural diversity and creative output in Asia... |
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Seen from this perspective, the agreement
between the MDA and Motion Pictures Association (MPA) to establish
Asia's first Centre for Content Protection (CCP), in Singapore, is a
positive development. |
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The CCP is Asia's first technical
organisation devoted to content protection technologies, policies and
standards. It is envisioned to be a clearinghouse of information for all
aspects and information regarding digital distribution and content
protection. |
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The CCP is a testament to Singapore's
standing as a secure media hub which respects intellectual property. It
will further enhance our value proposition as a trusted media partner. |
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Upgrading capabilities |
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As the media industry grows, it is important
to enlarge our talent pool to meet the needs of the media ecosystem. |
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One programme to address this issue is the
William Morris Agency-MDA’s Masterclass Series. Leveraging on William
Morris Agency's (WMA) global resources and relationships, this
Masterclass Series will see renowned media personalities and
professionals coming to Singapore to share their knowledge, experience
and expertise with our local media industry players. |
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We are pleased to be partnering WMA as it
reputed to be the largest and most diversified talent and literary
agency in the world. |
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Financing for new growth |
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Another critical component of the
media ecosystem is funding. Attracting private funds is imperative
to sustaining long-term industry growth and we are actively
working with industry and financial institutions to bring in
private capital and investment into the Singapore media industry. |
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For example, we have attracted
Australian-based Arclight Films to open a local office
Easternlight Film Productions, to finance, produce and distribute
international projects. Its debut film project Dance of the
Dragon, stars home-grown actress Fann Wong as the female lead, and
is currently in production. |
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Full Text of Speech |
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Source:
www.mica.gov.sg Media Release
28 Nov 2007 |
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FrontPage Edition: Wed 28 November 2007
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