HELSINKI, October 8, 2008, Asia-Plus — A two-day seminar for Central Asian journalists is concluding in Helsinki, Finland today.
Staged by the Finnish Foundation for Media, Communication and Development (VIKES) and the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and financed by the ministry, the seminar has been discussing issues related to working conditions of journalists in Central Asia’s states, their freedom of speech and expression, or opportunities for unionization.
The event is part of Finland’s Chairmanship of the OSCE, aimed to increase the readiness of Central Asian journalists to protect their interests and to promote freedom of speech and self-regulation of the media. The seminar supports the project of VIKES, implemented with development cooperation funding from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, aimed to support the unionization of journalists in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
The Finnish speakers of the seminar have pondered the situation of the media, journalistic work and the unionization here in Finland.
On October 7, journalists gathered near the Russian Embassy in Helsinki to observe a minute silence in memory of known Russian journalist, writer and human rights activist Anna Politkovskya, who was killed in Moscow on October 7, 2006. She was well known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict. She authored several books about the Chechen wars, and received numerous prestigious international awards for her work. Her murder, widely perceived as a contract killing, sparked a strong international reaction.
