OSCE trains state press officers, journalists in northern Tajikistan to promote public access to information

KHUJAND, Tajikistan, 19 June 2008 - Fostering effective communication between public bodies and the media is the aim of a two-day OSCE training course that started in Khujand today.

Organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Office of the President of Tajikistan, and supported by the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe and the Field Office in Khujand, the event brings together over 30 participants from the Sughd region in northern Tajikistan.

"Effective communication between state press officers and journalists is critical to 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 Tajikistan," said Alexander Boldyrev, a senior adviser to the Representative on Freedom of the Media.

Saidali Siddikov, the Head of the Information and Analytical Department of the President's Executive Office, said: "A comprehensive media legal framework has been developed in Tajikistan. Recently, public bodies of Tajikistan have increased the amount of information available on the Internet, and press conferences by each public body are required to be held by law four times a year. I hope this event will help us to do even more to increase access to information."

The event is one of over a dozen training seminars that the Office of the OSCE Representative has held in different OSCE participating States. The first training seminar for state press officers and journalists in Tajikistan was held in the capital Dushanbe last December.