Media Dialogue Newsletter
Bishkek, 4 March, 2021
The European Partnership for Democracy has been supporting the elaboration of the Information Policy Concept of the Kyrgyz Republic in the framework of the Media Dialogue project. During the last meeting of the Working Group on the elaboration of the Information Policy Concept, which was held in February, the vision, aims, and priority areas of the Information Policy Concept were defined. Today, on March 4, the Media Dialogue project will conduct a workshop with the members of the Working Group to identify key problems affecting each priority area, which will be addressed by the Concept. Preliminary priority areas include regulation and legal framework of information policy, digital sovereignty and development of national content, development of the media sector (including the development of new media, forms of journalism, and business models), and professionalization of media community. The workshop’s findings will also be presented and discussed with stakeholders from Osh, Batken, and Jalal-Abad regions on March 11 and 12.
On March 10, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy is holding in the framework of the Media Dialogue project an online discussion on checks and balances in presidential systems, with the aim of sharing international best practices on checks and balances mechanisms in presidential systems. The event will feature international experts Dr. John K. Johnson, Governance Consultant and Trainer, and Dr. Ketut Putera Erawan, Executive Director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD). Experts will talk about the US and Indonesian models, followed by Q&A session.
The Media Dialogue project is funded by the European Union and runs until end of 2021. Its objective is to harness the power of the media in safeguarding conflict-free elections. We have been delivering training and capacity-building activities to help media actors supply accurate and trustworthy election-related content to the citizens of Kyrgyzstan so that they can make informed choices.
We work with print, online and broadcast media outlets as well as production houses, individual journalists, online activists and influencers. Our events serve to improve their editorial standards, upgrade their digital skills, and inject an innovative spirit into the content they produce. The project is engaging government officials, parliamentary deputies, non-governmental and civil society organisations as well as members of the Central Electoral Commission and its territorial branches in an effort to create a more conducive election environment. We collaborate with the media and civil society communities to enhance self-regulation in the media sector and make it more robust and resilient to political manipulation or restrictive measures.
Our programme includes activities to increase the economic independence of the media by providing monetisation workshops, innovative digital content generation events and innovative media start-ups initiatives. We also cooperate with Kyrgyz universities and institutions providing journalism education to boost their curricula and link them up with European counterparts through exchange programmes. All our activities are delivered by a mix of international and local trainers and consultants exploiting areas of expertise offered by each of the Consortium Partners.
For more information about the Project or current and forthcoming opportunities, please get in touch with our Communications Specialist Asylgul Akimjanova at +996504222405, asylgulakimjanova@epd.eu or the Project Manager, Cholpon Nogoibaeva, cholponnogoibaeva@epd.eu.
In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, Media Dialogue has been adjusting its activities in line with WHO recommendations and national regulations of the countries involved in the project. Our priority is not to expose any beneficiaries, experts or staff to risks associated with the virus but at the same time to continue delivering the planned Action with every effort made to meet its objectives and maintain its effectiveness in the limiting and challenging circumstances.
