OSCE helps Kyrgyz state press officers and journalists work more closely, share information

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 26 March 2008 - Promoting effective communication between public bodies and the media is the aim of a two-day training course that started in Osh today.

Organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and supported by the OSCE Field Office in Osh, the event brought together around 20 participants from Batken, Jalalabat and Osh regions of the country.

"Effective communication between press officers of state bodies and journalists is a key element in securing citizens' access to information of public interest in a timely and accurate manner. We are glad to be able to promote the skills needed for this in southern Kyrgyzstan," said Alexander Boldyrev, Senior Adviser, Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

Funded by the Government of Switzerland, the event is part of a series of over a dozen training seminars that the Office of the OSCE Representative has held in different OSCE participating States.

In 2005, it organized the first training seminar in Kyrgyzstan for state press officers and journalists from the capital Bishkek.