DUSHANBE, November 1, Asia-Plus — A group of Central Asian journalists and representatives of governments, civil society and the state and private media sector have gathered in Dushanbe for a two-day conference that opened in Dushanbe today to discuss the challenges of developing media self-regulation mechanisms in the region.
The OSCE Center in Dushanbe said the 9th Central Asia Media Conference, organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OSCE Centre in Dushanbe, aims to increase the understanding of the role of mechanisms that help balance the rights and responsibilities of editors and journalists.
In Central Asia, such media self-regulation is already being promoted and recognized by some journalists and governments as a regulatory alternative, solving complaints fair and effectively, without being oppressive. A discussion of the components of self-regulation mechanisms, as well as assessing the needs and challenges will contribute to an increase in the understanding of the role of such mechanisms and will help to increase media freedom in Central Asia.
The Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, Ambassador Pryakhin the Head of the OSCE Centre and an official from the Tajik Foreign Ministry inaugurated the conference formally titled “Developing Media Self-Regulation in Central Asia: Towards Independent and Responsible Media.”
The conference is considering the following themes introducing media self-regulation: balancing rights and responsibility in the media; developing media self-regulation in Central Asia: needs and prospects; and latest developments for the media in Central Asia.
