OSCE Centre helps to improve journalism education in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 1 November 2012 – Improving the quality of journalism education was the topic of a roundtable discussion organized today by the OSCE Centre in Astana, in co-operation with the Minber Public Foundation, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office.

The event brought together more than 40 media professionals and academics from journalism departments nationwide, as well as civil society experts, who discussed the current state of journalism education and developed a set of recommendations for its improvement.

The event will be followed by a two-day training course for journalism department faculty members, focussing on the use of new media tools, convergence issues and journalism ethics.

“Training journalists to keep apace with the rapid changes in information technologies and the switchover to digital broadcasting is of particular importance in light of the transition from traditional media to new media sources, including the Internet,” said Andrew Offenbacher, Political Officer at the OSCE Centre in Astana. “This project provides young media professionals an excellent opportunity to learn about the current state of journalism education in the country, and exchange experience and ideas about future challenges.”

Omirkhan Abdimanuly, the Dean of the Journalism Department at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University said: “The project greatly benefits universities and media representatives by helping foster co-operation on journalist education in the conditions of a market economy. I am pleased that today’s roundtable discussion involved representatives from universities and media professionals who shared their thoughts on how to improve training for the journalism trade.”

The initiative is part of the OSCE Centre’s efforts to support journalism education in the country, which contribute to promoting the freedom of media and enhancing the public’s access to information.