ASTANA – The first international forum on ethnic media, “Tolerance and the Media,” was held on Nov. 15. It was organized by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK).
This forum, which coincided with the International Day of Tolerance, was also supported by the Ministries of Culture and Information, Foreign Affairs, Education and Science, and it was the first in a series of events running up to the Day of the First President and Independence Day. It was attended by journalists, scientists, MPs, diplomats and foreign experts.
In the welcoming address, deputy chief of the Presidential Administration, Baglan Mailybaev said that ethnic and religious harmony is our country’s main asset, and is reflected in the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy, launched by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Deputy Chairman – head of the APK Secretariat Yeraly Tugzhanov noted that since independence, Kazakhstan has developed a unique formula for peace and harmony, which, he noted, is called “Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Model for Social Cohesion and National Unity”.
“Political stability and national unity is our way of life. Kazakhstan was able to turn cultural, ethnic and religious diversity into a resource, it never became a destructive factor,” he added.
Leonid Prokopenko, the deputy head of the APK Secretariat elaborated on assembly activities; Roman Kim, a member of the Mazhilis (lower chamber of parliament) and head of the Korean Association in Kazakhstan, shared his ideas on the role of ethnic and national media. Hal Foster, Associate Professor at Nazarbayev University, and Adil Akhmetov, professor at Eurasian National University, talked about professional journalism.
Peter Shultsman, deputy dean of the Journalism Department at Moscow Lomonosov State University, speaking about the role of journalists and the media in strengthening social cohesion, praised the APK’s efforts. Latvian journalist Vladimir Reshetov praised Kazakhstan’s national policy and Nazarbayev’s efforts in maintaining internal peace and harmony. He expressed his hope that people in his country will one day know about all the positive processes that go on in Kazakhstan.
At the panels, discussion was continued on the role of journalist clubs in promoting peace and harmony in the media. In one of the panels, an agreement was signed on cooperation between the APK club of journalists and the Editors Club, which is an NGO. A presentation from the Kazmedia Ortalygy Media School was held.
Another panel gave a presentation on the Kazakhstan model of interethnic tolerance and social harmony for foreign media representatives and embassy press attachés.
Several of the topics covered included the culture of coverage of ethnic and religious issues on the Internet and social media networks, maintaining inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony amid the crisis of dialogue of civilisations.
The Kaz Media Centre organised an exhibit on ethnic media in Kazakhstan.
Comments and criticism of the event were taken, and winners of the “Shanyrak” ethnic media contest were chosen.
