Indonesia to host Asian advertising congress

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will host a gathering of top Asian advertising executives in November to review the state of the industry which has been growing robustly in virtually all countries in the Asia region.

The local organizers said yesterday that the 19th Asia Advertising Congress is expected to draw as many as 1,500 ad executives, representatives of major advertisers, and the media, making it the largest congress ever held to date.

The forum is an organization of the respective advertising confederations in Asian countries as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

AdAsia '95, scheduled for Nov. 6-9 at the Convention Center in the Nusa Dua beach resort, will bring in prominent speakers from the industry, governments as well as public figures to give their views about the advertising industry, Tika Bisono, the executive director of the organizing committee, said at a press briefing held at the Ministry of Information yesterday.

Among the foreign speakers who have confirmed are Allen Rosenshine, chairman and chief executive officer of BBDO Worldwide of the United States and Nicholas Negroponte, director of MIT Media Lab. From Indonesia, the list of speakers includes Coordinating Minister of Industry and Trade Hartarto, former environmental minister Emil Salim, and prominent Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid.

Baty Subakti, co-chairman of the organizing committee, said the organizers have finally resolved the problem of Taiwan's participation.

Both China and Chinese Taipei, as Taiwan will be referred to at the congress, will be sending delegations to Bali.

Baty said the forum will also discuss such new topics as the Asian way of life, the emergence of growth triangles between countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the trend towards eco-friendly products.

Baty and Mahtum Mastoem, the other co-chairman of the organizing committee, have been on a roadshow to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, to promote the event. They will continue with the campaign to other Asian countries.

The event is estimated to cost between Rp 4 billion and Rp 5 billion ($1.7 million) to stage, and the organizers have raised the funds, chiefly through sponsors, including from local television stations and media publications.

An exhibition and a golf tournament will also be held concurrently with the congress. (emb)