On June 27, media workers across Uzbekistan (presumably) celebrated a day named in their honor. The 19th iteration of Mass Media Workers’ Day was noted in a speech by Uzbek President Islam Karimov, where he cautioned the nation’s journalists not to “succumb to euphoria and get overexcited” about Uzbekistan’s many achievements.

Karimov was not specific about exactly which achievements the media should not get excited about, but he knew that they knew what he meant. “I am confident that you will agree that the whole world acknowledges our tremendous achievements and successes,” Karimov said, reminding the nation’s media that it needed “to reflect reality objectively.”

According to rights groups, however, objective information is harder to find in Uzbekistan than almost any other country in the world. The country ranks just ahead of North Korea in Freedom House’s 2012 Freedom of the Press report, is one of the 10 most censored countries in the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and was named one of Reporters Without Borders’ “enemies of the Internet.”

A dictatorship since independence in 1991, Uzbekistan became especially hostile to independent media after the 2005 massacre in Andijon. Following the events, the government cracked down heavily on civil society and expelled all foreign journalists. RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, Radio Ozodlik, was also barred from operating inside the country. Today, the state maintains strict controls over all print and broadcast media, and heavily filters the Internet. That is, unless you ask the authorities.

On Mass Media Workers’ Day in 2011, Karimov rejected claims that his government censored the web. «We absolutely do not accept the establishment of any walls, [or] limitations in the information world leading to isolation,» he said. A press release issued by the Uzbek government for the 2012 celebration praised the diversification of Uzbek media. It reads: «Before independence, all the media structures in the country…were the bodies of state power and governance. Today, more than 60 percent of the mass communication media registered in our country are considered private.”

Interestingly, as the Uzbek government unironically celebrated its media workers, CNN aired a report on the country where «echoes of the ancient Silk Road are everywhere.» The seven-minute piece mentions Karimov’s dictatorial tendencies only in passing (in the first minute), saying the country «stands with one foot in the past, and one foot in the modern world,» which is a «sometimes uneasy transition for a former Soviet republic.»

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/silly-dictators-uzbekistan-media-workers-day/24629076.html

The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Innovation and Development Alliances, is inviting applications from prospective partners that are either Private and Voluntary Organizations based in the United States (US PVOs) or indigenous, local Nongovernmental Organizations (LNGOs) for the Development Grants Program (DGP).

The overall objective of the DGP is to contribute to improved and sustainable grass roots development by supporting development projects and strengthening capacities of nascent development partners. The DGP has a priority of strengthening LNGOs and US PVOs, recognizing that a vibrant and active NGO sector is fundamental to promoting a healthy democracy that is accountable and responsive to citizens’ needs. Organizations which receive DGP awards will have access to capacity development support, predominantly from local training and technical assistance providers, to enhance their organizational and/or technical capabilities.

Priority sectors to be addressed for Tajikistan are Human Rights, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Microenterprise.

There are two steps in the application process under this Request for Applications (RFA): submission of a concept paper and a full application.

The deadline for concept paper submissions is July 2, 2012.

Do not submit a full application unless requested to do so by a USAID Mission.

Missions will notify Applicants that have submitted concept papers by August 1, 2012 whether or not to submit a full application.

Awards will be made on a competitive basis by participating USAID Missions via grants and cooperative agreements in amounts up to but not exceeding $2 million.

Complete information on eligibility criteria, application process and other program requirements can be found on the internet at www.grants.gov (please search for “Development Grant Program” for this RFA). Any questions about this RFA should be submitted in writing to the following email address: QA-DGP@usaid.gov. USAID/Washington will collect, organize and respond to these questions by posting an amendment to the RFA on www.grants.gov and on the DGP website.

www.grants.gov

Journalists up to age 35 can apply for a free media training in Kyrgyzstan.

The School of Peacemaking and Media Technology presents a five-day training session designed to encourage open discussions on peacemaking-related matters.

Kyrgyz- and Uzbek-speaking journalists who work in print and online media in South Kyrgyzstan are eligible.

Applicants must submit a motivation letter describing past experience, willingness to work in a multiethnic team and one work sample in either English, Kyrgyz, Uzbek or Russian.

The course will be held August 21-26.

For more information, in Russian, click here: http://ijnet.org/opportunities/www.ca-mediators.net

http://ijnet.org/opportunities/www.ca-mediators.net

Bactria Cultural Centre invites beginner and professional musicians and sound engineers to attend a seminar on studio recording and audio mastering by a musician and sound engineer Taneli Bruun (Finland).

Active and qualified participants will be considered to be involved in future cultural projects implemented by Bactria Cultural Centre.

The seminar will take place in Bactria Cultural Centre, from July 2nd to July 6th, 2012. Two groups will be formed, one attending morning sessions, the other working in the afternoons.

Taneli Bruun is a qualified sound designer and musician, experienced in studio recording and live sound for international Festivals and national TV stations in Finland and abroad.

If you are interested in applying, send your CV and cover letter/e-mail message to bactria.music@acted.org, explaining:

1. Your motivation to enrol to sound engineering course;
2. Give details on your interests in music: are you a musician, sound engineer, or willing to explore a new sphere;
3. Give detailed information on your interests, studies, future plans in music;
4. If you have a precise project in the field of studio recording, please present it in details;
5. Do you prefer to attend seminar sessions in the morning or in the afternoon.

The training is conducted as part of the project “Strengthening and Diversification of the Music Production in Tajikistan” (supported by International Fund on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, UNESCO).

Bactria Cultural Centre | ak. Rajabovih 15 str., 734000 Dushanbe
Phone: +(992 372) 21-92-89, 27-03-67, www.bactria.net, bactria@acted.org

www.bactria.net

DUSHANBE — Internet access to Tajikistan’s leading independent news agency Asia Plus remains cut off for a second day.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, Tajik Communications Ministry official Beg Zuhurov claimed «maintenance reasons» were behind the loss of access, which began Tuesday.

Asia Plus, however, accuses authorities of blocking access because of some readers’ comments, which were published on the website and seen by officials as being critical of authorities.

Asia Plus said negotiations are under way with officials to restore access, and the agency has pledged to publish its daily news bulletin on its Facebook page.

Earlier this year, Tajik officials blocked access to Facebook and several independent news agencies, citing «technical reasons.»

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik-news-agency-cut/24612846.html

DUSHANBE – Tajikistan’s parliament has approved new amendments to the country’s election laws, making it mandatory for lawmakers to be able to speak Tajik fluently.

The new changes stipulate that without fluency in Tajik no one can stand as a candidate in local or national elections.

It remains unclear whether nominees will be required to pass language tests to qualify for elections.

Tajik media and the State Language Committee have repeatedly criticized what they call lawmakers and officials’ inability to speak «pure» Tajik as well as their tendency to even deliver even official speeches in their local dialects instead.

Since 2009, proficiency in Tajik has become mandatory for all state employees.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik-language-proficiency-mandatory-for-lawmakers/24613439.html

DUSHANBE — Internet access to Tajikistan’s leading independent news agency Asia Plus remains cut off for a second day.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, Tajik Communications Ministry official Beg Zuhurov claimed «maintenance reasons» were behind the loss of access, which began Tuesday.

Asia Plus, however, accuses authorities of blocking access because of some readers’ comments, which were published on the website and seen by officials as being critical of authorities.

Asia Plus said negotiations are under way with officials to restore access, and the agency has pledged to publish its daily news bulletin on its Facebook page.

Earlier this year, Tajik officials blocked access to Facebook and several independent news agencies, citing «technical reasons.»

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/tajik-news-agency-cut/24612846.html

As Britain’s political leaders testify to an ethics panel this week about their relationship with the media, one question dominates the proceedings.

That is, are Britain’s politicians too close to the media — or too afraid of it — for the country’s good?

Among those who have already appeared before the ethics panel led by Judge Brian Leveson since June 11 are former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, current Labour leader Ed Miliband, and former Conservative Prime Minister John Major.

All of them, plus Prime Minister David Cameron, due to appear on June 13, are testifying in Britain’s yearlong enquiry into illegal practices by journalists, chiefly phone hacking.

Although the tabloid where the scandal began, Rupert Murdoch’s «News of the World,» closed in July 2011, the scandal keeps spreading.

It has already led to the arrest or resignation of dozens of journalists, political operatives, and officials.

Now, questions about the relationship of the country’s top political figures to the press – and particularly Murdoch – are creating a crisis for Britain’s political parties as well.

«We are certainly learning that the political establishment became, certainly over the last couple of decades, very close indeed to elements of the press,» says Martin Moore, director of Media Standards Trust, an independent organization concerned with news standards.

‘Fear And Favor’

According to Moore, this has been particularly true of Murdoch’s News Corporation and News International, since they dominated circulation, with almost 40 percent of total circulation among the U.K. press, but also applies to some other media organizations.

He says the close relationship is one of both «fear» and «favor» and each endangers Britain’s body politic.

Suggestions of the level of fear — and anger — the press can inspire in politicians came as Brown appeared on June 11. Brown, prime minister from 2007 to 2010, fiercely attacked Murdoch, denying the press baron’s claim that Brown phoned him to say the Labour Party «would make war on his company» after Murdoch’s «The Sun» switched its support to the Conservative Party in 2010.

But it is the subject of favors that interests the ethics inquiry more.

This week’s hearings have repeatedly looked at whether Britain’s current ruling Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has been too cozy with Murdoch’s empire.

That includes Cameron’s hiring of a former editor of the «News of the World,» Andy Coulson, as a top media adviser after he left the paper in 2007 amid an earlier phone-hacking scandal.

Cameron says he was right to give Coulson a «second chance,» but the ex-aide’s resignation early last year and his subsequent arrest by London police investigating the recent phone-hacking scandal have put Cameron on the defensive.

Similarly, the government’s culture office is at the center of questions about whether it tried to smooth the way for Murdoch to expand his empire last year by taking over BSkyB, Britain’s largest pay-TV provider.

Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt has been on the defensive since one of his aides, Adam Smith, resigned when it became known he was in close contact about Murdoch’s takeover bid with one of the media mogul’s lobbyists after the «News of the World» crisis exploded last summer.

Search For Remedies

The question before the ethics inquiry is not to decide if any of Britain’s politicians have done wrong. That is beyond the scope of the proceedings.

But the inquiry has already shed light on how close the relationship between Britain’s press and its politicians has become — and many hope it will suggest ways to remedy the problems.

«As soon as you scrape the surface, you realize that there is an enormous amount of really intimate relationships between those two elites — between the political elite and the [tabloid] media elite,» says Natalie Fenton, professor of media and communications at Goldsmiths College of the University of London «And that has all sorts of implications for the development of policy, for the passage of legislation, for political agendas, all the ways in which politicians are thinking about how to develop policy, how it might appear in the media, what they can do to influence that.»

The ethics inquiry will produce a report to the government in October which is expected to include both an assessment of the extent of journalists’ illegal activities and recommendations for reforming the current system of press regulation.

Among the issues the report addresses could well be whether the media should be left to regulate itself through the existing Press Complaints Commission or whether an independent board is needed.

Similarly, the report may address whether an independent body, rather than politicians, should make decisions related to the press in order to avoid the risk of conflicts of interest.

Charles Recknagel

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/leveson-inquiry-cozy-relationship-press-politicians-britain/24613136.ht

​​​​​​​​​​Vaclav Havel’s name is synonymous with peaceful resistance to authoritarianism and commitment to individual liberty and dignity. In his career as a writer and playwright, Havel established himself as Europe’s most renowned dissident voice. During his time as president of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, Havel used his position of power and influence to speak out as an unyielding advocate for democratic voices the world over. Long a listener and supporter of RFE/RL, Havel invited RFE/RL to take up residence in Prague in 1995, planting RFE/RL’s headquarters in a city where its broadcasts were once banned.

The Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for journalists to receive on-the-job training while working alongside RFE/RL’s seasoned professionals. Fellows will be integrated into the appropriate RFE/RL language service and expected to participate actively in its multi-media programming. Fellows will also be encouraged to publish articles in outside publications and to participate in public events and discussions relating to their regional focus and journalistic mission. Fellowships are from six to twelve months and include a stipend, housing and travel arrangements to and from Prague.

Call for applications for programs starting 1 September 2012
Deadline for applications: 18 June 2012

RFE/RL is pleased to accept applications for the RFE/RL — Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship. The Fellowship is a joint program between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and RFE/RL that is inspired by the former president’s belief in the transformational role of journalism in challenging tyranny. It provides intensive training at RFE/RL’s Prague headquarters to journalists from countries in RFE/RL’s broadcast region where media freedom is stifled and independent journalists are at risk.

How to Apply:
The program is open to promising journalists with English fluency from the Russian Federation and the European Partnership Countries: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova.

Fellowships will be awarded on a competitive basis in accordance with the application process described below.

Applications:
A complete application includes all of the following information:
A short personal essay describing the candidate’s fellowship and career goals
Work samples
Two letters of recommendation
Curriculum vitae

**Please note that the requested materials must be submitted in English.

Deadline:
To apply for the Fall 2012 Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship, please download the application and submit your fully completed application to havelfellowship [AT] rferl [DOT] org by June 18, 2012. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Candidates will be informed of their selection by July 15, 2012

More Information:
For more information about the Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship, please send an email to havelfellowship [AT] rferl [DOT] org.
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http://www.rferl.org/havel_journalism_fellowship.html