The South East Asia Newspaper Association (SEANG) will hold its third annual conference on Jakarta, Indonesia, in September.

Planning for the event moved ahead with an organisational meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week (March 11) chaired by president Anthony Cheng. Elected at the end of last year's conference, Cheng - who is executive vice-president of production at Singapore Press Holdings - succeeded Khun Kitti Yimlamai.

He promises a more hands on approach to SEANG, making the organisation truly regional. "For SEANG to grow, it must be a truly ASEAN organisation, so the host country for the conference needs to change frequently," he says. Future locations will however maintain the levels of comfort and convenience that members and sponsors have become accustomed to.

SEANG 2010 will be held from September 21-22 at a venue to be announced in Jakarta, and preceded by a golf event and welcome party.

Vice president and co-founder Stephan Peters says the decision is one for the newspaper members: "SEANG was set up to be run by the newspapers for their benedfit, and they must decide where it meets."

The conference will stay in the same format as previous years with the emphasis on technical issues. The first day will have technical presentations - including a two-hour 'newspapers only' technical exchange between members - while the second day will be more focused on interaction within smaller groups. Once again, the focus is on information, with a bar on selling.

The conference will also see the introduction of a new three-tier sponsorship structure for suppliers, with bronze, gold and platinum levels delivering additional benefits.

More information from www.seangnews.com or email Stephan Peters at stephan@pegras.com