Women from Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Palestine have been awarded “Courage in Journalism” prizes at a ceremony in New York.

The four were honored on October 24 by the International Women’s Media Foundation, which describes itself as “dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the news media worldwide.”

RFE/RL Azerbaijani Service correspondent Khadija Ismayilova was honored for her continued reporting on corruption and malfeasance in Azerbaijan’s government, despite becoming the target of a smear campaign this year that sought to humiliate and silence her.

Also honored were imprisoned Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu and Palestinian writer Asmaa al-Ghoul, who has faced militant threats and torture.

Veteran reporter Zubeida Mustafa, 70, was given a Lifetime Achievement honor for being the first woman to work in Pakistani mainstream media and for enacting policies in support of female journalists.

http://www.rferl.org/content/journalism-khadija-courage-prize-new-york-women/24750140.html

BISHKEK — Kyrgyz Deputy Interior Minister Melis Turganbaev tells RFE/RL that a new investigation has been launched into the high-profile murder of an independent ethnic Uzbek journalist.

Turganbaev did not elaborate, only saying that an investigation was under way.

Alisher Saipov was shot dead in the center of the southern city of Osh on October 24, 2007.

In 2010, the Osh City Court found a local citizen, Abdulgafar Rasulov, guilty of Saipov’s murder and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Saipov’s father, Avas Saipov, protested the sentence, saying that the real killers and those who plotted the murder were not punished.

Alisher Saipov wrote about Islamic groups and opposition politics in the region and reported on the 2005 massacre of protesters in the Uzbek city of Andijon.

http://www.rferl.org/content/kyrgyzstan-reopens-saipov-murder-case/24750471.html

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is criticizing the Tajik authorities for shutting down the Amparo rights group in Tajikistan’s northern city of Khujand.

A court there took the action on October 24, saying the group was operating without a proper license.

Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, issued a statement on October 25 calling the decision politically motivated.

He also called it «a transparent attempt to silence voices working on critically important issues such as torture and the rights of military recruits and a major step backward for human rights in Tajikistan.»

Amparo, founded by young Tajik lawyers in 2005, monitors human rights violations, torture allegations, and the rights of the Tajik Army soldiers.

The group’s leaders say they will appeal the court’s decision.

http://www.rferl.org/content/hrw-slams-tajik-ngo-ban/24750600.html

Mid-career media professionals who reside outside of the United States can apply for a fellowship.

The 2013 Yale World Fellows Program is seeking applications from emerging leaders who have distinguished themselves within their own professions, regions, countries, or at an international level.

Candidates for the fellowship must demonstrate to be driving forces for action or effective catalysts of change. In significant ways and in significant arenas, each must show promise of a career trajectory of increasing responsibility and impact.

There are two primary aspects to the fellowship experience on campus. First, the fellows participate fully in an academic curriculum that advances their critical-thinking and leadership skills. Second, the fellows become teachers and mentors by deepening the understanding of the entire Yale community about the complexity and diversity of the world. They guest lecture in classes, meet with student groups, deliver campus-wide lectures and contribute to informal dialogue and learning across the campus.

The program runs annually from mid-August to mid-December. The application deadline is December 5.

For more information, click here: http://www.yale.edu/worldfellows/application_eligibility.html

http://www.yale.edu/worldfellows/application_eligibility.html

Journalists worldwide interested in using social media to report on public affairs can participate in this program.

The Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University invites journalists to apply for the 2013 Kiplinger Fellowship.

Participants will explore creative reporting uses of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites. Training sessions will showcase strategies for backgrounding individuals and companies, as well as building an online following. Fellows will learn the latest tactics for effective public affairs reporting, including the retrieval of public records, documents and data.

Print, broadcast and online journalists with five or more years of experience and strong English skills are eligible to apply.

The fellowship includes accommodation and a travel stipend, and will take place April 7 — 12, 2013 in in Columbus, Ohio.

The deadline is November 30.

For more information, click here: http://kiplingerprogram.org/kiplinger_program/apply.html

http://kiplingerprogram.org/kiplinger_program/apply.html

KHUJAND, Tajikistan — A court in Tajikistan’s northern city of Khujand has shut down a human rights group, saying it operated without a proper license.

Junaid Ibodov, a lawyer for the Amparo group, told RFE/RL that the case was politically motivated.

Tajikistan’s Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit against Amparo, saying it failed to timely show its address change at the ministry.

Amparo was founded by about 30 young Tajik lawyers in 2005.

It monitors human rights violations, torture allegations, and the rights of Tajik Army soldiers.

It also helps local citizens to learn more about their rights through conferences and online discussions.

The association has often been cited by the UN Human Rights Commission.

Amparo leaders say they will appeal the court’s decision.

http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-shuts-down-rights-group/24749874.html

Dushanbe, Tajikistan, October 23, 2012 – In the twenty years of partnership between the U.S. Government and the Government of Tajikistan, we have been impressed with the strength and skills of people across the country. We want to take a moment to acknowledge their hard work and the many things we’ve learned from our partnership together. Here are some of the stories that have inspired us.

Dilafruz Subhonqulova received training from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on greenhouse construction, poultry farming, canning and preserving fruits and vegetables, and collecting and storing vegetable seeds. She taught her newly acquired skills to 36 other women of Kashot village in the Jirgatol district. “Every woman in the group, including myself, earned between $228-342 per month from selling our greenhouse products.” Over the next five years, an estimated 201,000 local smallholder farmers will receive assistance through USAID’s Feed the Future program to escape poverty and under-nutrition.

Hoji Mirzo Ismailov is a partner of USAID’s Productive Agriculture Project, which increases farmers’ incomes by promoting best practices. Ismailov expects to harvest 20 tons of premium tomatoes that can sell for 50 percent more than tomatoes grown using other methods. “It has been a great opportunity to work with USAID because we share similar goals to develop the agriculture sector in Tajikistan,” he said during a recent visit with local government officials.

Another way that we are working together for increased regional stability is to improve economic growth and trade. USAID has helped facilitate over $2.5 million in trade deals for Tajik companies. When USAID focused on strengthening microfinance systems, participating banks quadrupled their portfolios to $7.1 million. The U.S. Government has worked with its donor partners and Tajikistan’s Customs Service to implement a Unified Automated Information System. Use of the electronic system has cut the preparation time for a customs declaration from three hours to three minutes. In the first seven months, the declarations prepared using the automated system improved the acceptance rate from 1 percent to 99 percent.

This month, the American people will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the FREEDOM Support Act, which provided assistance to countries emerging from the former Soviet Union. Since 1992, the U.S. Government has provided more than $984 million in development assistance to Tajikistan. The gains we have made by working together have been significant, but there is more that we can do. We look forward to continuing this important partnership with the government and the people of Tajikistan in order to ensure a stable and prosperous future for all.

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/

A youth camp to support the promotion of tolerance amongst youth from all across the Republic of Tajikistan was held in the Academy of Sciences’ resort area (Vahdat district), from 8-18 October 2012.

The 11-day event was organized by the international charitable peacebuilding organization “International Alert”, in cooperation with the Committee on Youth Affairs, Sport and Tourism of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, and with financial support from the British Embassy to Tajikistan.

The camp drew together over 50 male and female youth participants aged 18-25, coming from the Khatlon, DRS and Sughd regions of the Republic of Tajikistan. The main goal of the youth camp was to increase the awareness and knowledge of tolerance and civic education among the participants. This is the third camp organised by International Alert in collaboration with the Government of Tajikistan. The first two were in 2010 and 2011.

The agenda and content of the youth camp were prepared in fruitful cooperation with the Committee on Youth Affairs, Sport and Tourism, which supported the transparent selection of youth camp participants from many districts of the country, on the basis of a publicly announced competition.

The camp was designed to promote the spirit of peace, unity, tolerance and dialogue among youth from different regions of the country. It served to increase their knowledge about a range of topical youth issues, such as the decision-making structure and functioning of the Tajik State, the main rights and obligations of citizens, healthy life-style, including the issue of drugs addiction, gender, youth and migration, educational / job opportunities, as well as increased youth participation in society.

During the youth camp, participants were encouraged to play sports together and to unlock their artistic and creative potential. Volunteers from among the youth participants also had the possibility to jointly produce and screen entertainment and information TV/radio programmes about the camp activities.

The youth participants had the chance to receive knowledge from leading local specialists and trainers, but also to exchange their experiences and skills with their peers. The camp agenda also included meetings with representatives from official State bodies as well as international organizations, providing
the youth participants with a great opportunity to discuss relevant issues with respected experts.

International Alert wishes to express its surprise about an online media article which alleged that the youth camp was not authorized. International Alert received the necessary agreement and permissions from relevant State institutions. International Alert has always acted transparently and in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Tajikistan.

An official closing ceremony was held on Thursday 18 October 2012 at 17:00 at the youth camp location.

http://www.international-alert.org

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned Turkey for being «the world’s leading jailer of journalists.»

In a report issued on October 22, the New York-based group said 76 journalists were in Turkish jails as of August 1, adding that 61 of them seemed to be there as a direct result of their work.

The report says the cases of the remaining 15 journalists are still being investigated by CPJ workers.

The report also notes that 70 percent of those journalists were Kurdish.

It says 30 percent of jailed journalists were accused of participating in plots against the government or membership in outlawed organizations.

The report also claims that three-quarters of jailed journalists have not yet been convicted of any crime but are held while they await «resolution of their cases.»

According to the CPJ, the charges against these journalists often originate from the journalists speaking with «security officials or obtaining documents.»

CPJ executive director Joel Simon said, «Turkey’s tendency to equate critical journalism with terrorism is not justified by the country’s security concerns.»

The report cites Turkish media-freedom groups as reporting at the end of 2011 that there were some 5,000 criminal cases pending against journalists.

It also criticizes Turkish authorities for a 2007 Internet law that allows ad hoc filtering, which CPJ says is particularly noticeable against opposition and Kurdish websites.

The CPJ recommends that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan «should cease his attacks on the press and instead provide justice for journalists while pursuing reforms that guarantee freedom of expression.»

The CPJ’s Simon said, «As a rising regional and global power, Turkey’s economic and political success should be matched by respect for the universal right to freely exchange news, information, and ideas.»

According to the CPJ, the number of journalists in Turkish jails surpasses figures in Iran, China, or Eritrea, qualifying Turkey for the title of the world’s leading jailer of journalists.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Источник: http://www.rferl.org/content/cpj-says-turkey-worlds-leading-jailer-of-journalists/24746957.html

Program Title: Ambassadorial Fund for Cultural Preservation

Award Amount Range: $10,000 — $250,000 (For your information, the average award
amount in the 2012 round was approximately US $66,000)

Project proposals must include or address the following:

Project purpose that briefly explains the project objectives and desired results;

Project activities description that explains how the applicant intends to achieve the project objectives and results, presents proposed tasks in a logical order, and describes how those tasks directly contribute towards achieving the project objectives and results;

Project timeframe or schedule that identifies the major project phases and milestones, with performance target dates for achieving them;

Statement of importance highlighting the historic, architectural, artistic, or cultural (non-religious) values of the cultural site, object, collection, or form of traditional expression;

Statement of urgency indicating the severity of the situation and explaining why the project must take place now;

Detailed project budget, demarcated in one-year budget periods (2013, 2014, 2015, etc.), that lists all costs in cost categories (Personnel, Travel [including Per Diem], Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Other Direct Costs); indicates funds from other sources; and gives a justification for any anticipated international travel costs;
Applicant information, including resumes or CVs of the proposed project director and key project participants, that demonstrates that the applying entity (ministry of culture, NGO, etc.) has the requisite experience and the capacity to manage projects to preserve cultural heritage;

Proof of official permission to undertake the project and the endorsement and support of the appropriate national authority;

Attachments, including at least five high quality digital images (JPEGs) or audiovisual files that convey the nature and condition of the site, object, or form of expression and, in the case of a site or object, show the urgency or need for the proposed project (collapsing wall, water damage, worn fabric, broken handle, etc).

10. Applicants must:
A. Obtain the organization’s Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) DUNS (www.dnb.ru)
B. Be registered in the CCR prior to submitting an application or plan; (https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/)
C. Fill out SF form 424 (attached separately)
Deadline for submission of proposals: December 01, 2012
The proposals must be written in English. Applications will be reviewed and considered as they arrive. Early applications are encouraged. We appreciate your interest in this program.

For more details please visit http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/amb_fund.html

or contact:
Sherzod Abdujabborov

U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Section
109 A Ismoili Somoni Avenue, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
E-mail: AbdujabborovSA@state.gov
Phone: +(992) (37)229-2315; Mob: +(992) 985808002

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/amb_fund.html