 Round table of the Kazakhstan public organizations carrying out socially significant projects in the field of HIV prevention took place on December 22, 2009 in Almaty. Organizers of this round table were Public Association “Center for Development of Public Initiatives” and Public Foundation “Kazakhstan Union of people living with HIV.”
This round table was one of the activities planned by the Center for Development of Public Initiatives for 2009 within the framework of the first stage of the program “Resource center for the mass-media giving coverage of HIV/AIDS issues” carried out within the grant of the Central Asia AIDS Control Project. There were 11 representatives of Kazakhstan NGOs.
The objective of the round table was to consider the issues related to implementation of clause 10 of the Resolution of Forth Central Asia Forum of Partners working on HIV prevention – “Strengthen efforts on building stable partnership relationship with representatives of mass media in order to ensure qualitative and regular coverage of HIV and AIDS subjects in means of mass media.”
With the purpose in view participants have shared the experience on interaction with mass media. Mr. Sergey Skakunov, representative of NGO, told about his experience of signing contracts with the journalists who are addressing Public Foundation “Adali” for information. Such approach does not violate the rights of the journalist to receive information, but in turn, guarantees NGO that the given information will not be mutilated in a journalistic material.
Additionally, participants discussed most important issues facing NGO on increasing the effectiveness of interaction with mass media in the sphere of coverage of HIV and AIDS subjects. Considered all, the majority of issues discussed can be divided conditionally into two categories. First category of issues was on improvement of NGO work directed on interaction with journalists and mass-media. The second group of questions focused on the attitude of mass media to covering of HIV and AIDS topics in their publications.
 In particular, all participants of the round table have noted necessity of including press-secretary or communications expert to work with mass-media and public into the staff structure of NGOs. Whether journalists will come to activities conducted by NGO, and also what material will be published in press and what story piece will be shown on TV will depend on the availability of NGO specialist, who will be able professionally to formulate information occasion, prepare press release and hold press conferences. In order to solve this issue NGOs will need support from the donor organizations and government. Participants hope that the international community and government will allocate grants and financing within the framework of state social assignment not only for program activities, but also for institutional development of NGOs, in particular, for communications with mass media and public. If questions of the first category can be considered internal, i.e. their solution to a greater degree depends from NGOs themselves, the questions of the second category are external for NGO, and their solution depends on journalists, editors and owners of mass media.
The extensive positive working experience of the international donor organizations and other stakeholders on issues of journalists training in specificity of covering HIV and AIDS subjects in mass media has been noted during the round table discussions. Participants have unanimously emphasized necessity of continuation of such trainings of journalists in the long term, thus creating the pool of entrusted journalists. In addition participants have wished from the organizations carrying out training of journalists to create a single database of all trained journalists. If such database created and accessible for NGOs, then Kazakhstan public organizations will be able to invite already trained journalists to their activities and events, what, in its turn, will positively affect on tolerant and unbiased interpretation of HIV and AIDS subjects in mass media.
Based on the results of the round table participants had formulated the resolution. The content of the resolution will be accessible to all interested persons in the near future.
For additional information please contact Center for Development of Public Initiatives: Alexander Smagly and Olga Voronova. Contact information: Almaty, st. Zhandosova, 36. Tel.: +7 (727) 269-34-45, 250-19-50/53 (int. 125/126). Mobile: +7 701 732 3426. E-mail: cdpi1@nursat.kz |
