OSCE conference highlights role of the media in countering violent extremism in Kyrgyzstan
BISHKEK, 28 September 2016 - Eighty media experts, religious experts, journalists, civil society and government representatives from Bishkek, Osh and Batken gathered in the Kyrgyz capital today for a conference on the role of the media in countering violent extremism.
The event aims to create a platform for discussing mechanisms for co-operation between media, civil society and government bodies in countering violent extremism, which is one of the key objectives of Kyrgyzstan’s state policy concept in religion for 2014-2020. Two workshops will be held on linguistic analysis of violent extremist materials and on developing alternative narratives in the media.
Two workshops will be held on conduct of pscho-linguistic analysis of violent extremism materials and on reporting stories related to violent extremism and terrorist radicalization.
The conference is led by international media and legal experts and organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek jointly with Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Information, the State Committee for National Security, the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) Office in Bishkek, the Institute of Media Policy and the Internews Representation in Kyrgyzstan.
“Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is essential to sustainable security and is a key part of the OSCE's comprehensive approach to security. Any measures which limit or discriminate against rights and freedoms may drive division, intolerance, exclusion and consequently lead to radicalization to terrorism,” said Nana Baramidze, acting head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.
“Global experience in combating violent extremism and terrorism shows that the effectiveness of the measures depends on the joint efforts of state institutions, civil society and media. It is necessary to use the potential of the media to promote free dialogue and open discussion of the existing problems,” said Ainura Temirbekova, Deputy Minister of Culture, Tourism and Information of Kyrgyzstan.
The event is part of the OSCE Centre’s media project on building national dialogue on information security and contributes to the OSCE United in Violent Extremism (#UnitedCVE) campaign