Role of Internet during pandemic crisis focus of the 11th OSCE Forum on Internet Development in Central Asia
The 11th Annual Central Asian OSCE Forum on Internet Development, organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan, in co-operation with the International Centre for Journalism MediaNet, was held online from 10 to 13 November 2020.
The Forum focused on “Transforming the role of the Internet during a pandemic”. Some 200 participants discussed the role of the state, media, and society in providing reliable information, countering disinformation and fake news, and protecting freedom of expression and information accessibility to all. The event also covered other topics such as the rising influence of the Internet on public life and the importance of capacity-building of journalists and the general public on fact-checking, media and information literacy.
The event gathered government officials, civil society representatives, media-related non-governmental organizations, professional associations, the diplomatic corps, experts, lawyers and journalists from Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, USA, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. During master-classes and sessions, participants focused on specific topics, such as challenges to access to justice and access to information during the pandemic, tools to tackle disinformation and deepfakes, protection of personal data and digital security.
The Forum was part of the Office’s work in promoting freedom of expression and freedom of media in Kazakhstan and the Central Asia region.