Former ABU officer, Letchumi Achanah, joins The Media Alliance and Redraw The Line team
20 November, 2012 – Singapore – The Media Alliance announced today the addition of Letchumi Achanah, a former Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Projects Officer, to its team. Letchumi is tasked with advancing the Redraw The Line climate change awareness campaign.
Letchumi has extensive broadcast media experience gained from working at the ABU, where she handled development communications with multilateral organizations including the UN ISDR, the ILO, UNESCAP and the ADB for international projects including the Climate Change Solutions Campaign, the Early Warning Broadcast Systems Initiative and Disaster Risk Reduction. These projects were geared towards empowering broadcasters to educate the public on climate change and also prepared the broadcasters for their communication roles in the event of a disaster.
Letchumi was also heavily involved in the recent London 2012 Olympics, during which the ABU production team delivered a total of 3,000 hours of live and recorded coverage via terrestrial and satellite means to 23 countries.
In addition, Letchumi has held senior editorial and production positions with Astro, Malaysia’s leading satellite pay-TV operator, and at Asia Media Monitors Pvt. Ltd. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the University Putra Malaysia, where she majored in broadcasting.
Letchumi joins the Redraw The Line team to intensify media and entertainment partnerships towards increasing broadcast content and developing public entertainment events designed to raise the awareness of climate change issues.
Redraw The Line is a public awareness campaign responding to the challenges posed by climate change. The campaign was created by The Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social Awareness (The Media Alliance) and Ogilvy & Mather Advertising with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The goal of the campaign is to mobilise a “critical mass” of people, communities and cities to take positive action and drive the demand for clean energy, transport and environmentally sustainable consumption. Redraw The Line draws on the participation of (1) Media, Entertainment and Creative Industries; (2) Advertising, Creative and Entertainment Industries; (3) Private-Sector Sponsors; (4) Multilateral, Bilateral and Development Agencies; and (5) Tertiary Academic Institutions in target countries.
“The addition of Letchumi to our team is significant. Not only have we gained an individual with a proven track record, but she also has strong relationships and contacts among the multi-lateral and broadcast sectors,” said Craig Hobbs, CEO of The Media Alliance. “We’re very happy to gain the involvement of such a professional while providing her a platform to continue the good work she did while with the ABU.”
For additional information contact:
Craig Hobbs
Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social Awareness
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#15-12 West Tower
Great World City
Singapore 237994
Phone: + 65 9864 2994
Fax: +65 6491 5121
craig.hobbs@mediaalliance.asia
BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANISATION
Redraw the Line is a call to action that inspires people to believe they can make a difference to problems of climate change. Our goal is to mobilize a ‘critical mass’ of people, communities and cities to take up positive actions that address the main drivers and impacts of climate change. As part of the campaign, we will highlight women and youth as leaders and the first line of defense in the battle to contain climate impacts. Currently, Redraw The Line is active in Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam and will be expanding to other countries in Southeast Asia in the coming year.
The Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social Awareness (‘The Media Alliance’) is a Singapore-based non-profit organization formed through the involvement of a group of Asia-regional media industry executives and their companies. The Media Alliance has come together to leverage a valuable media “inventory” or media space for the delivery of critical pro-social messaging through Public Service Advertising, entertainment and editorial content. The Media Alliance also leverages the contribution of creative expertise of advertising agencies in the production of high-quality campaigns designed to achieve maximum target audience penetration. The Media Alliance stakeholders include (1) Media Companies, including print, broadcast, online, outdoor, cinema and in-flight which provide media space for pro-social campaigns; (2) Advertising & Creative Agencies, which contribute in-kind creative and production services (3) International Development and Donor Organizations working in sustainable development; and (4) Private-sector Companies supporting Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.