"Under the heading “Inclusive, independent media in a new democracy”, the 5th annual Myanmar Media Development Conference took place 7 – 8 November 2016 in Yangon, the first to be held under the new democratically elected government. The conference featured government representatives, media owners, human rights activists, and media practitioners from different ethnic backgrounds. A less stringent, hardtalk-like format paved the way for a less formal and more frank discussion than that of previous years. Gender inequality in media and the challenges of ethnic and community media were at the heart of discussions, where Minister of Information, U Pe Myint, expressed continued commitment to the media reform process. “This year’s meeting theme recognises that for media to develop, the country’s diverse voices, in terms of gender and ethnicity, must also be considered.” The exceptionally high turnout of more than 300 representatives from the media, government, military, judiciary, civil society and international press freedom organisations at the meeting was, if anything, a clear illustration of the continued sense of importance invested in the media reform process in Myanmar." (Page 7)