Where: Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT)
When: October 5, 2010, 19.30 – 21.30
Complimentary beer and wine served, 19:30pm, screening at 20:00pm. To be followed by a panel discussion.
Traditionally one of the most isolated countries in the Southeast, Laos is now open for business. The Government of Lao is encouraging the use of the country’s rich natural resource heritage like forests, minerals and water/rivers to turn its “land into capital” and lift the country out of poverty. It is heralding itself as the “Battery and Garden of Asia”. As a result, China, Vietnam and Thailand have invested more than 10 billion dollars in Laos in the since 2000.
But Laos, as tve’s Earth Report reveals in a programme broadcasted on BBC World News on July 3 and 4, 2010, is one of Southeast Asia’s last biodiversity hotspots, boasting the widest range of large mammals in the region and over 50 percent of the world’s vascular plant species. Can the Government achieve its goals to move out of the Least Developed Country status by 2020 through foreign direct investment while maintaining its rich ecological and social diversity? The Earth Report travels with Sam Say, an overseas Lao returning after more than 30 years to invest in the country, and botanist Mr. Sounthone Ketpanh, to investigate investment ‘opportunities’ and how they are impacting on their country’s heritage.
The screening will be followed by a moderated panel discussion focused on the impacts of different development pathways facing Laos and how these can be minimized. The moderator for the night will be Mr. Nirmal Ghosh, Senior Thailand Correspondent for the Straits Times and currently on the Executive Committee of the FCCT. The panel will include: 1. Mr. Sombath Somphone the 2005 Magsasay Award Winner and founder of the first NGO in Laos, the Participatory Development and Training Centre (PADECT) 2. Ms. Latsamay Silavong, Country Representative, IUCN/Lao PDR 3. Mr. Sounthone Ketphanh, Deputy Director, Forest Research Centre, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Lao PDR 4. Mr. Sam Say, owner Bolevan Farms, Champassak, Lao PDR
‘Gambling on Laos’ has been produced with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Swedish International Development Agency (SIda) and GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit).
tve on YouTube
Directions to Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand http://www.fccthai.com/location.html
Schedule for Screening of Betting on Laos Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand/Bangkok October 5, 2010 7.30 – 9.30 pm
- 7.30 Drinks and networking
- 8.00 Introduction to the event By Nirmal Ghosh 8.05 Remarks/comments by Donors Anders Granlund, Sida/SENSA
- 8.10 Introduction to the film Sombath Somphone
- 8.15 Screening of Betting on Laos
- 8.45 Panel discussion: Moderator: Nirmal Ghosh Panelists:
1. Mr. Sombath Somphone, Director, Participatory Development Training Center (PADeTC)
2. Mr. Sounthone Ketphanh, Deputy Director, Forest Research Centre, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Lao PDR
3. Ms. Latsamay Silavong, Country Representative, IUCN
4. Mr. Sam Say, Bolevan Farms Introduction of panelists and moderator by MC 15 minutes: Each panelist given 3-5 minutes to provide commentary and reflections, raise issue 30 minutes: Moderated Q&A
- 9.30 Closing and thanks Nirmal Ghosh
