Media Awareness Exchange (MAE)

MAE is a collaborative effort between ABU and international entities to build the capacity of the media to address issues such as pandemic flu, climate change and disaster reduction, HIV/AIDS, migrant workers, and conservation. The MAE involves a monthly satellite delivery mechanism complemented by internet distribution of the material. ABU is inviting related advertising, public relations, and corporate communications sectors and other media service providers to participate in the creation and distribution of such content.

Specifically, the content available on the MAE website includes public service announcements (PSAs), video and audio news releases (VNRs), news features, and short documentaries. In addition, "toolkits" are offered for broadcasters who wish to obtain scripts and footage for adapting for use in their own, locally-produced culturally- and linguistically-relevant productions for their home viewing audiences. These toolkits are offered in the following topics: health, environment and conservation, labour, drugs and trafficking, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and poverty. Links to online resources and reports focused on HIV/AIDS are also provided as part of this effort to encourage broadcasters to be more proactive in their coverage of this particular development issue - and to provide them with the information needed to do so effectively.

Selected campaigns and content are delivered through a regular, monthly satellite transmission. By leveraging the resources of member company media service providers, the ABU has established a network for the satellite operations to distribute content generated by MAE. MAE has established what organisers describe as a timely distribution "vehicle" or "mechanism" of HIV/AIDS content to television and radio broadcasters in the region through a 10-minute monthly satellite transmission supported by the Global Media AIDS Initiative. Complementing the monthly HIV/AIDS distribution is an ad-hoc delivery of content related to issues such as climate change and conservation, supported by international organisations such as the United Nations Environmental Programme.

Another strategy for facilitating HIV/AIDS coverage, in particular, is the ABU-MAE Project Awards Programme, which provides awards of US$1,000 to help motivate and underwrite the development and production of local television and radio programming on HIV/AIDS. As an indication of MAE's commitment to the wide sharing of pro-social content, funding is contingent on the broadcaster's willingness to provide final content rights-free to other ABU member broadcasters via ABU-MAE monthly satellite distribution. The Awards are supported by the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI).

Health, HIV/AIDS, Environment, Rights, Economic Development.

According to ABU, "[t]he role of the media in Asia in combating pressing global issues is tremendous, and the power of the media to stimulate change is huge...By inviting other media service and communications companies to work with our broadcasters, we hope to provide additional creative resources and distribution mechanisms to television and radio producers."