OSCE promotes access to information in Tajikistan with training course for press officials and journalists

DUSHANBE, 12 December 2007 - Increasing public access to official information as well as fostering effective interaction between state administration bodies and journalists are the aims of a training seminar that is held today in Dushanbe.

"Authorities' political will to promote access to information, combined with a professional and responsible press, stimulates the development of society," said Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe.

The two-day seminar is organized jointly by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Presidential Administration with support from the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe.

"The State guarantees all citizens equal rights of access and dissemination of information. This is enshrined into the country's legislation," noted the State Adviser to the President on social development and public relations, Saidmurod Fattoyev.

More than 30 participants, including journalists and governmental press and public information officials, are taking part in the seminar. International and local experts will conduct sessions on the legal and ethical principles of interaction between state officials and journalists, as well as global standards related to access to information. The seminar also involves discussions on the main challenges encountered in communication between two groups.

"We hope that this event, designed to encourage professional dialogue between state authorities and journalists, will help achieve good co-operation between them. Such co-operation will enable the media to convey information on matters of public interest, enhancing public participation in the decision-making processes," said Alexander Boldyrev, the Senior Adviser of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

The event was part of a series of training programmes launched by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in 2005 to consolidate relations between state press officers and media.