The School of Peacemaking and Media Technology of the Network of Social Mediators Public Foundation announces the launch of the new project, Encouraging Diversity Through Media funded by the Freedom of Information Program of Soros Foundation - Kyrgyzstan.
Study on media in such Kyrgyzstan regions as Chui, Osh, Jalal-Abad, Batken and Bishkek was aimed at better understanding if and how local print, online and social media is portraying ethnic groups and whether the media outlets are contributing to xenophobic stereotypes and discriminatory discourse.
School of Peacemaking Journalism and Media Technology presented an annual report "Hate Speech in the Media and Internet in Kyrgyzstan-2013” Full version of the report in Russian and English is posted on the website:
The study was undertaken by a media monitoring group in March to April and October to November 2013.
The report was based on the analysis of hate content carried in the surveyed newspapers published in Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken regions and some print media distributed in Bishkek and Chui region, online media and posts in social networks.All surveyed media were examined for ethnic stereotypes and xenophobia.
Current content analysis showed the relevance and timeliness of the survey, and found a range of factors pointing at impending conflict in the Kyrgyz society.
A new Hate Speech report finds a range of factors pointing at impending conflict in the Kyrgyz society. The report gives trends, comparative analysis and dynamics, subjects and victims of hate speech, examples of most widespread clichés and stereotypes.
In spite of that in 2013, radical type of hate speech was used less frequently in articles, the level of hate towards ethnic groups in the media remains quite high with some change in the types of ad hominem attacks and use of covert hate.
Inga Sikorskaya works as the Director of School of Peacemaking and Media Technology in Central Asia from 2012. She is a professional journalist, media expert and trainer. Her areas of expertise include freedom of expression, peace study, hate speech, diversity and language rights, conflict and ethnic journalism.
Inga is the founder of the School of Peacemaking & Media Technology in 2010 after then she found herself in the center of the ethnic violence in the southern Kyrgyzstan and has made a numerous media reports and photos from the conflict zone. She initiated the constant media monitoring for hate speech, that until then was not in Kyrgyzstan and adopted research methodology based on international experience.
Mrs. I.Sikorskaya has wide international experience in media, conflict transformation, peace research and peace journalism training. This year she led some workshops for countering online hate speech, that have been supported by the OSCE Center in Astana (Kazakhstan), the training-workshops for youth journalists and activists in Kyrgyzstan and CA region. She was a member of a working group
Combating Hatred in Social Media – Exploring Interrelations with Freedom of Opinion and Expression to develop recommendations at the OSCE Chairmanship Conference on Tolerance and Diversity in Germany in October 2016.
She comments regularly on freedom, hate speech, conflict and media issues for the Radio Liberty, IWPR, other media and conference, and has been heavily involved to creation of the post-conflict policy in Kyrgyzstan.
Mrs. I.Sikorskaya is the author of more than50 analytical reports for the British Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR),where she spent seven years as a senior editor for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the most closed countries in Central Asia. Previously Inga worked in Kyrgyz TV and radio.
In 2015 she joined on research project for the organisation Peace Direct that funds and promotes local peacebuilding in conflict regions around the world. Inga’s role is of Local Peacebuilding Expert in Kyrgyzstan, she conducts research on peacebuilding, writes information on peacebuilding organisations and its analysis the approaches and cases which can be read the website.
In 2012-2013 she has been to Afghanistan, where she made a series of photo essays on "the back of the war” and create the hand book entitles "How can women journalists make visual reports from Afghanistan". Besides she was one from an author of the handbook "Effective Communication" and "The Human Rights Reporting" for journalists and activists in Central Asia, co-author investigation "Health in Turkmenistan after Niyazov” at the London School of Hygiene&Tropical Medicine.
In 2015 Inga developed the firstonline course for journalists and activistsin Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia on how to cover ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity in time of peace and conflict.
She holds B.A. in Mass Communications and Journalism and M.A. in Law.
Arif Aliyev joined School of Peacemaking and Media Technology as a trainer in 2011. He is professional journalist, has got rich experience in the media industry.Having become a member of the expert team of the School, he has developed a number of original training methods to destroy stereotypes of journalists and media editors in southern Kyrgyzstan. He specializes in peacemaking and ethnic journalism, is the chairman of the "Yeni Nesil” union of journalists Azerbaijan. Arif is also the initiator of the Baku Press Club project and the Press Council of Azerbaijan. Arif is a founder of the prestigious in the country journalism award "Key media." He is an author of more than 830 nonfiction works in newspapers and magazines, television and radio - broadcasts, documentaries, author and compiler of 14 books.
Publications:
http://www.osce.org/ru/fom/19476
Eran Fraenkel is a specialist in the field of media and social change. International trainer on peacemaking journalism joined School in 2012, when he has successfully trained multinational group of reporters from southern Kyrgyzstan on production of reportage at post conflict area. New concept of journalism for Kyrgyzstan previously has been successfully applied during such a project in Macedonia in the Balkans, in the post-conflict period. In the framework of his activities Eran trained Kenyan youth and community groups to the development of programs of the media to conflict transformation.
He led the team that conducted the evaluation of the media in Afghanistan, and worked as the lead author of the "Afghanistan: assessment of media opportunities to build peace" report published by the U.S. Institute of Peace in 2010. Fraenkel has developed a program for the training of young radio journalists in Aceh, Indonesia, and a new program to assess the media in conflict regions.
Publications:
http://www.usip.org/publications/iona
http://conflict-prevention.net/page.php?id=40&formid=73&action=show&surveyid=4
Ashot Melikyan joined the trainers’ team of the School of peacemaking and Media Technology in 2011. With rich experience in the reporting on ethni conflicts, peacemaking and establishing peace between the warring parties, he is one of the developers of training materials for the training of journalists in southern Kyrgyzstan. This technique is based on the experience gained by reporters and media organizations of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the implementation of joint projects. Beginning in 2011, the technique was successfully implemented in the training course of the School of Peacemaking and Media Technology. Ashot was a professor of journalism at the University of Yerevan, was the director of the Media Association and coordinator of the Yerevan Press Club. Currently, Ashot Melikyan is a chairman of the Committee on Freedom of Speech in Armenia.
Military men near the aftermarket during mass clashes, Osh, June 201
Training’s participants on mediation and conflict management are building the Tower of Peace, Bishkek, April 2011
Training in destroying stereotypes for journalists, Bishkek, April 2012
Workshop on production of team reporting in multinational journalist groups, Bishkek, August 2012
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