Tajik Media Programs

crossposted from ijnet

Tajik media group launches new training and support programs


The Fourth Power, a non-governmental and non-commercial media assistance
organization located in the Sughd province of northern Tajikistan, is
organizing several new projects, including the development of two new media
centers and a training program for women journalists.

The group has already launched a new Media Resource Center for journalists,
teachers, and students in the Sughd province, with the support of the Dutch
government and the mission in Tajikistan of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The new center offers educational and
training programs for Tajik journalists, all facilitated by international
media experts and specialists. The center also publishes a monthly bulletin,
and informational video clips for both urban and rural electronic mass media
in Tajikistan.

The U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan is lending support for a second Mass Media
Support Center, organized by the Fourth Power. This center aims to provide
easy access to modern alternative information from various international
information agencies. At present, the center receives international news
from foreign channels such as the BBC, CNN, IRRINN, which it then translates
into the Tajik-language, and distributes to electronic media outlets
throughout the region.

The Fourth Power is also organizing a new project to raise the professional
level of female journalists in Tajikistan by training them in modern
production techniques. The program, supported by the Canadian International
Development Agency through the Canadian Embassy in Tajikistan, includes a
number of computer courses to familiarize women journalists with basic
computer skills, such as the use of e-mail and the Internet.

The Fourth Power was created to facilitate sustainable development, while
upgrading the socio-political status of the media in the Sughd province.
Organizers hope to increase the possibilities for Tajik media outlets to
participate effectively and influence the process of creating and developing
a secular, democratic, and legal society in Tajikistan. The group hopes to
establish contacts with similar organizations in neighboring countries,
mainly in the Ferghana Valley, to eventually create a cross-border
cooperation network, while expanding its activities to other parts of the
country.

For more information on the activities of the Fourth Power, contact Parvona
Firuz at str. Kamoly Khujand 108, apt 9, Khujnad/Tajikistan 735700.
Telephone/fax (10-992-3422)60362/67382. E-mail [email protected].

(July 1, 2002)