Originally launched in the late 1960s as a UNDP-funded project implemented by UNESCO, the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) is now a unique regional inter-governmental organisation servicing countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) in the field of electronic media development.  It is hosted by the Government of Malaysia. AIBD is mandated to achieve a vibrant and cohesive electronic media environment in the Asia-Pacific region through policy and resource development. The Institute seeks to fulfil this mandate by mobilising the intellectual and technological resources available within the national broadcasting organisations of its member countries as well as regional and international bodies through a well-established infrastructure and networking mechanism which includes government agencies, non-governmental organisations, institutions of higher learning, the private sector and individual professionals. The new strategic plan of the AIBD calls upon the Institute, given its status as a centrally-located pan-regional inter-governmental organisation, to play a more assertive role for the benefit of its present and future members by serving as: a regional platform to encourage dialogue and co-operation in the electronic media policy of the Asia-Pacific region, taking full account of emerging current and global, regional and national issues; a window for regional policy makers to access information to worldwide mass media policy formulation and regulations and vice versa; a vehicle to establish inter-regional links and co-operation for  trans-border media and communications development; a think-tank for the development of regional programming that reflects the traditional values of the Asia-Pacific region; an agent of change in the regional IT environment; a catalyst for national media development, taking account of new partnerships between manufacturers, service providers and the governments; a media consultancy resource house to assist member countries; and a reference centre and provider for human resource development. The Institute is located on the second floor of Bangunan IPTAR within the Angkasapuri Complex, home to the National Broadcasting Organisation of the Government of Malaysia - Radio Television Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. IPTAR - which is the training centre for RTM - provides all physical and technical facilities for the AIBD to conduct its activities. The Government of Malaysia through RTM is also the biggest contributor in terms of annual subscriptions. Membership of AIBD has so far been confined to sovereign states only, but these are allowed to designate their broadcasting authorities to be the beneficiary. The Institute currently enjoys a membership of 24 countries and one donor member, and moves are afoot to expand the membership rolls not only to include more sovereign states as full members but also to open it up to the private sector and others to come in as associate members. The activities of the Institute in the last two decades have mainly focused on skills development for broadcasters; these activities have been ‘demand-driven’, responding to needs identified by the member countries themselves.  As a consequence, the Institute has emerged as the lead provider of broadcasting training in the region.  Its relevance and success is manifested by the fact that more than 14,000 personnel from countries within the Asia-Pacific region have been beneficiaries of the Institute’s training programme, several of whom now occupy senior managerial positions in the broadcasting industry. The training programmes provided by the Institute cover a wide variety of specialised fields, from production to management of radio and TV operations, news and current affairs programming, digital transmission and satellite broadcasting to computer assisted instruction, computer graphics and animation to audience research and programme evaluation and training methodology. The Institute is also emerging as the key training provider of new media, including Internet Broadcasting and Web–based learning. The Institute conducts seminars and workshops and has developed a number of publications and other prototype training materials in various media forms. One example is the interactive CD-ROM on News Reading and Commercial Production for Radio, launched in February 1998. More materials are currently being developed for the benefit of broadcasters in the region. AIBD has recently launched a new Strategic Plan formulated to provide a direction to take the AIBD into the future.  The Strategic Plan calls for the Institute to embark on a paradigm shift with a new vision, new mission and a new set of objectives. The paramount aim of the Institute is to achieve a vibrant and cohesive electronic media environment in the Asia Pacific region through policy and resource development. In translating that vision into a mission, the Institute will undertake to: encourage regional dialogue and co-operation in electronic media policy of the Asia-Pacific region; provide an Asia-Pacific regional platform for international cooperation in the electronic media development; assist member countries in human resource development in the electronic media, consistent with their development needs; and assist member countries with electronic media consultancy. Taking into consideration the developmental needs of broadcasters in the region and the importance of a strong partnership between the public and private sectors (since the latter play an increasingly significant role as a purveyor of information at the national, regional and global levels), the Institute developed the new objectives: to promote discourse and dialogue that help to shape electronic media policy in the region; to promote closer  regional co-operation among member countries in the electronic media development and convergence; to promote a partnership between the public and private sector that encourages the most effective utilisation of the resources allocated for electronic media development; to promote electronic media management that encourages continuous human resource development; to collaborate in electronic media research; to establish strong inter-regional links for international co-operation and  collaboration; and to supplement and compliment the activities of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). While the core functions of serving as a forum for policy makers and centre for policy dialogue as well as acting as a cleaning house and interfacing and assisting the activities of members’ national training institutions will be the top priority, the Institute will also undertake time-bound projects as its extra budgetary activities. In this context, members are solicited to forward their requests for such projects which would lend themselves to funding from sources other  than the Institute’s own funds. Such funding sources could include multilateral and bilateral agencies, private funding organisations, private firms and individuals. In its endeavour to successfully implement its core and extra budgetary functions, the Institute will undertake a three-pronged initiative at national, regional and international levels aimed at establishing appropriate partnership arrangements with all existing and future organisations that also attach priority to electronic media development. Interested parties are welcome to make enquiries on any matters mentioned above.