Young journalists at OSCE Academy in Bishkek discuss media issues with German Minister
Students of the Central Asian School of Contemporary Journalism of the OSCE Academy and the Deutsche Welle Akademie, a summer school for young journalists, met Federal Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development of Germany Dirk Niebel in Bishkek on 26 August 2012 during his visit to Kyrgyzstan. Niebel was accompanied by Federal Ministry officials, a member of the German Parliament (Bundestag) and representatives of the business community and journalists from German news agencies.
At the meeting the young journalists - ,from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan - showed video reports on social topics, produced as part of their studies, and shared their impressions of the course, plans for the future and their particular regional experience. They discussed with the Minister professional issues, such as freedom of media in Europe and in Central Asia, coverage of sensitive topics such as inter-ethnic conflict, journalists’ codes of ethic, access to information, and interaction with governmental institutions and other actors. Representatives of German media shared some European best practices in the sphere of journalism.
Federal Minister Dirk Niebel said: “Kyrgyzstan takes the leading role among Central Asian countries in promoting the principle of media freedom. Democratization of the state is to be supported by parallel development of independent media, which contributes to free exchange of opinions in the society, sometimes in the form of open argumentation, sometimes in exploring and disclosing to the readers existing problems. ”
Maxim Ryabkov, the Director of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, said: “Today’s meeting with the Federal Minister Dirk Niebel, and other high-level German governmental officials, who in fact represent sources of information for journalists, and representatives of German media, is an extraordinary chance for the students to share their experience and learn about their European colleagues’ work, other countries’ media policies, and discuss opportunities for constructive collaboration between journalists and state officials.”
The 10-week long Central Asian School of Contemporary Journalism has been held annually since 2010. It combines modules on print, TV, radio and online media with practical training in coverage of political affairs, ethnic conflict, and social, economic and environmental issues. This OSCE Academy project is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, while Germany provides funding through the Deutsche Welle Akademie, which is the OSCE Academy’s expert partner in defining curricula and holding trainings.