Paradigm Infinitum Wins DFAT Grant for New Media Project

Paradigm Infinitum has been successful in its bid for a grant from the Australia Malaysia Institute, a unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The grant will support a research project entitled “New Media and the Informed Citizen: A Comparative Study of Malaysia and Australia” . The project will encompass a research paper, an ongoing web presence and a symposium scheduled for Friday 24 July 2009, to be held in Brisbane.

The project was inspired by observations and anecdotal evidence of the influence of new media particularly in the Malaysian twelfth General Elections held in 2008. “The influence of new media on the political spectrum is a fairly new phenomenon and can be seen in elections around the world. But the evolution and integration of online media into the political process in Malaysia can be seen as more advanced than what we experience in an Australian context. So we want to examine this issue from a social-cultural, legal and political perspective, and particularly juxtapose the context of the Malaysian political sphere to the Australian,” said Shona Leppanen-Gibson.

The project team, comprising Shona Leppanen-Gibson, Kiong Chan, and Vicknaraj Thanarajah (Raj) will also be flying to Malaysia to conduct interviews with political leaders, policy makers, prominent commentators and Internet users. Besides the support of the Australia Malaysia Institute, Paradigm Infinitum will also be partnering with Griffith University.

Confirmed guests for the symposium include Steven Gan, founder and editor of Malaysiakini, Malaysia's premiere online news resource, R. Nadeswaran, otherwise known as "Citizen Nades", renowned investigative journalist and blogger, and Graham Young, chief editor and publisher of Online Opinion.

Please stay posted for more information, or contact Paradigm Infinitum directly for the latest news.