Splice Beta 2023. November 8-10, 2023. Chiang Mai, Thailand
Here’s what happened at Beta 2023
Everything you need to build your home at our festival — and in this community.
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We’ll let you know when we have a date for Beta 2024.
Splice Beta 2023 Twenty-seven presentations Twenty-six clinics Forty-nine speakers Fifty-seven countries One hundred and fifty-three organisations Two hundred and eighty people One media community One elephant One tuktuk
Listen to sessions from Beta 2023
Splice’s guide to your media future
For almost a decade, Alan Soon and Rishad Patel of Singaporean firm Splice Media have been talking about the ongoing transformation in the media, and advising start-ups across the region. What have they achieved thus far?
By Sudhir Vadaketh
Jom
Who is Beta for? The global media ecosystem
Media startup founders, creators, tech folks, investors, journalists, media development donors, product managers, media program managers, and academics.
“Loved the exiled newsroom talks, super relevant and will continue to be. Also, your commitment to diversity and inclusion was really inspiring. Thank you for making it part of this event and for making sure women had a voice.”
— Anonymous attendee, Beta 2023
Diversity, inclusivity, and access are a big deal for us.
54.4% of registered attendees at Beta 2023 were female and 42.6% male.
48% of our speakers were female and 48% male. Almost 76% of speakers had never presented at Beta.
We had attendees from 57 countries. The top five nationalities represented were Burmese, Indian, Filipino, American, and Singaporean.
Speaker presentations
We’ll add to these as they come in
Pictures from Beta 2023
by Hein Htet
“I was told that if I could attend only one conference a year Beta should be it. I now know why. I left with inspiration, motivation, new ideas, and new friends.”
— Sudeshna Chanda, Radio Zamaneh, The Netherlands
The Beta 2023 book
The Big Pink Elephant in the Room and Other Beta Stories
“This conference is like a warm hug. Always supportive, encouraging, and inspiring.”
— Anna Natividad
PumaPodcast
Some of the 155+ companies you met at Beta
606 Digital, AAJA-Asia, Agence France-Presse, Agência Pública, Amu TV, Article 19, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Asiaville, Bandung Bergerak, Baraza Media Lab, Boomerang Media, Cambodian Center for Independent Media, Center for Investigative Reporting, Chiang Mai University, Climate Tracker, Commoner, Cuestión Pública, Davao Today, DealStreetAsia, Democratic Voice of Burma, Deutsche Welle Akademie, DFRLab, DigitalMama.id, DreamSpace Media, Earth.Org, EWMI-ODI, Exile Hub, Faqcheck, Fivestones, Fojo Media Institute, Following the Yuan, Frontier Myanmar, Future Forum, FYT Media, Girl's Podcast, Global Investigative Journalism Network, Global Voices, GMA Network, Google, Gravitas PH, Greenhouse, Himal Southasian, Himalmedia, Hong Kong Free Press, Icarus Media, Inclusive Journalism, Indigenous Media Network, Initium Media, Institute for People Centred AI, International Center for Journalists, International Fund for Public Interest Media, International Media Support, Jom, Josh Talks, Journalism Growth Lab, JournalismAI, Justice for Sisters, Kiripost Media, Konde.co, Kontinentalist, Le Havre Normandy University, Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, Lemon Press, Lighthouse Reports, Luat Khoa Magazine, Luminate, Macaranga Media, MeaVox Live, Media Development Investment Fund, Media in Cooperation and Transition, Mekong Review, MGID, Mindanao Institute of Journalism, Money2020, Morningtide Capital Partners, News19, Newsworthy.Studio, North Base Media, NU Jabar Online, OnionDev Technologies, Open Society Foundations, Outriders, Pakistan Press International, Prachatai English, Probe, Project Multatuli, PROTO Studio, Pulitzer Center, PumaPodcast, queerbeat, Rappler, Reuters, Rohit Upadhyay Mediaworks, Sanity, Semafor, Shh...Diam!, Stichting Democratie en Media, Stichting Radio Zamaneh, StoryFlow, Studio Zainal & Zainal, Suno India, Thammasat University, The Centrum Media, The Conversation, The Current, The Fourth, The Gender Beat, The Opener, Thibi, TNL Mediagene, Tokyo Investigative Newsroom, Tribal News Network, Trident Media, Trustmeimareporter.com, U Digital Content, ub.life, unnu.news, UX Thrive, Vietnam Weekly, Voice of America, WAN-IFRA, and ZAG Studios
Splice Beta helps connect to opportunities for all of us in media — from business models to audiences to jobs. We want to make sure everyone has a seat at the table.
Our Beta fund continues. Let’s help people who couldn’t otherwise afford planes and hotels to get to Beta 2024.
The Splice Beta Startup Pitch Stage
Huge congratulations to Catur Ratna Wulandari for winning the Startup Pitch Stage!
Ten pitchers. Five minutes. Five slides. Five thousand dollars.
The ten pitches were by Nang Nyi, Catur Ratna Wulandari, Grace Thu, Kiana Duncan, Voranai Vanijaka, Ekaterina Voronova, Yao Hua Law, Uyanga Altantuya, Panha Theng, and Ankur Paliwal — thank you for pitching your hearts out.
Ratna won the Google-sponsored prize of $5,000.
SPONSORED BY
“Attending Beta was like going back to school at the young age of 52. I learned many new things, got rid of several old assumptions, and had some of my own crazy ideas validated. Great job, team Splice!”
— Badar Alam,
Lok Sujag
Beta 2022
What is Splice Beta?
An inclusive and diverse media startup festival in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.
Beta is the only event in Asia that brings together the media ecosystem. This is the golden age of media. Let us show you what it looks like.
Tuktuk therapy for all.
Why we Beta
This is our fourth Splice Beta. And it’s about the user.
This festival exists to help you build a viable media business, wherever you work in the media ecosystem — regardless of whether you're a journalist, creator, publisher, grantor, funder, NGO, CSO, big tech, little tech, data wiz, teacher, trainer, researcher, designer, or program manager. If you’re at Beta, you have a part to play in the transformation of media, and this is your community.
A newbie’s guide to Beta
There are two things that most people bring to — and take away from — Splice Beta. One is the friendships, and the other is a renewed excitement around what’s happening in media. If you leave Chiang Mai with both of these, you’d have made the most of these couple of days.
Build friendships, ideas, trust, product, collaborations, brand, prototypes, audiences, revenue, businesses.
Build your home in this community.
Thank you to our wonderful sponsors — we could not have done this without you
Why you should sponsor Beta 2024
It’s a great marketing platform
Link to your organisation’s programs, work, and resources on the Beta website, newsletters, and social.
Launching a product, program, service? Announce it at Beta. Let us help you get the word out.
You meet the community
We facilitate introductions to participants. Find your next upcoming media entrepreneur or creator.
We have private meeting rooms for quiet conversations. No one likes noisy cafes for important meetings. We’ll have great spaces for you.
It’s your chance to build the community
Host a session to recognise the heroes from your programs. Let’s give them the acknowledgement they deserve.
You can help the community learn what they need
Run a workshop or presentation. Do you have case studies to present? Best practices to teach? That’s very Beta.
We appreciate you!
We’ll show our appreciation for your support at the sessions, on our website, newsletters, social media, printed materials, signage. It matters to us, truly.
