OSCE PCUz conducted a training on «Enhancing Media Literacy for Prosecutors»

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan jointly with the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the NGO “In-service Training Centre for Journalists” is conducting a series of training courses on media literacy for prosecutors. The activity is organized within the framework of the "Promoting Rule of Law, Human Rights and Media Development” project.

Twenty six (nine female and seventeen male) officers of the Prosecutor's Office, including senior public relations and legal information assistants of the Prosecutor's Office Departments and senior inspectors of the Compulsory Enforcement Bureau under the General Prosecutor’s Office participated in the first training course held on 3-4 October 2023. In the course of the training, the participants discussed the challenges taking place in the contemporary media space, basic concepts and principles of media and information literacy, as well as explored methods of critical thinking in assessing the reliability and accuracy of information, cybersecurity issues and social networking algorithms. Much attention was also paid to the gender aspect of media literacy and the use of fact-checking platforms to counter fakes.

During the sessions, prosecutors shared their experience of co-operation with the media, discussed matters of malicious content on the Internet as well as considered issues related to the use of Artificial Intelligence, its positive and negative effects on the media. The Acting OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan Sergei Sizov, noted that "The most important of various media literacy projects and initiatives throughout the OSCE region are those related to the development of mechanisms and platforms for close co-operation among all stakeholders, including government agencies, media organizations, business structures, academic institutions and NGOs".