Enlarged meeting of Ministry of Information’s Party cell opened
(KPL) The 15th enlarged meeting of the ministry of information and culture’s party cell was officially held in Vientiane on 25-26 February under the chairmanship of its secretary general Mr. Mounkeo Oraboun.
The meeting aimed to discuss and share comments on the political report which will be submitted to the ministry of information and culture’s third party congress.
The meeting also reviewed the activities made by ministry of information and culture in the past five years and the directions for the next five-year plan.
During the meeting, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Professor Dr Bosengkham Vongdara also highlighted a number of achievements made by the ministry, especially in the field of information. The number of print media publications has increased by 20 over the past five years, bringing the total to 90 newspapers and magazines nationwide, reported Dr Bosengkham Vongdara.
There are now 43 radio stations across the country, an increase of eight since 2005. FM radio stations also broadcast international programmes such as from the China Radio International.
The broadcasting coverage of the Lao National Radio Station (LNRS) now accounts for 90 percent of the nation, a 10 percent increase in the past five years, Dr Bosengkham said. The LNRS also offers online content including language lessons in Lao, Hmong, English and French.
There are now 32 television stations across the country, including two private stations, all with broadcast coverage to 70 percent of the nation. The deputy minister said the analogue broadcasting system is being gradually replaced by a digital system. “By 2015, the transformation from analogue to digital system is expected to be fundamentally complete,” he said.
The number of mass media personnel has increased from 600 in 1993 to more than 1,200 at present.
Dr Bosengkham said the media sector in Laos is growing both in quality and quantity, adding that the media played an important role in disseminating Party guidelines and policy, state regulations and laws, and socio-economic development efforts, as well as educating and informing people. The meeting heard that almost 200,000 families, or 19.05 percent of the total nationwide, have been certified as model cultural families. Some 868 villages, or 9.3 percent, across the country have been announced as model cultural villages.
The ministry has actively worked to preserve Luang Prabang and Vat Phou Champassak, which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites, as well as renovating several historic and cultural areas.
Dr Bosengkham said, despite the significant achievements in the past few years, there is still room for improvement, particularly in expanding the content of media programmes and articles. More informative and educational materials need to be broadcast and published, he said.
Dr Bosengkham said the ministry had developed three laws which had been passed by the National Assembly. These are the laws on national heritage, publishing and media.
Dr Bosengkham presented a draft information and culture plan for the next five years (2011-15) to the meeting.
The ministry will endeavour to expand radio broadcasting coverage to the whole nation, along with 80 percent coverage for television broadcasts. They also expect to complete installation of Internet networks between the ministry’s headquarters in Vientiane and its offices in provinces nationwide.
The transformation to a digital broadcasting system is set to be fundamentally finished by 2015, and totally complete by 2020.
