OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports young journalists’ endeavours for impartial coverage of security issues
An OSCE-supported three-day training course aimed at enhancing journalists’ skills in covering security issues concluded on 23 April 2017 in the village of Bulan-Sogutuu, in the Issyk-Kul province of Kyrgyzstan.
The training course provided young reporters the opportunity to increase their professional capacity to provide objective and impartial coverage of radicalism, extremism and terrorism-related issues. They studied international reporting standards and journalistic ethics as well as were familiarized with the main media channels used to disseminate extremist content in Kyrgyzstan.
Richard Wheeler, head of politico-military dimension of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek said: “Nowadays, the media are an important tool in maintaining peace and stability. Peacekeeping journalism in turn is a method of impartial, objective and free coverage of civil and political conflicts as well as issues of war and peace. That’s why it is important that in Kyrgyzstan, the media also plays a critical role in the political and social life of the country.”
The training course for future Kyrgyz journalists was designed by two prominent experts in conflict-sensitive journalism: Nikolai Pavlov, a television producer at Thomson Reuters, and Inga Sikorskaya, Director of the School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia.
Gulmira Kalykberdieva, a student at the Osh State University who took part in the course, said: “This training course was a great opportunity for me to deepen my knowledge and acquire skills in covering security issues. Thanks to the professional media experts and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, we have learned how media can both serve as a tool for conflict resolution and, on the contrary, can cause a conflict situation to deteriorate.“
The training course was conducted within the framework of the OSCE Project “Promoting Security in the Area of Transnational Threats and Promoting Democratic Governance.”