Ulaanbaatar, July 21, 2023 /MONTSAME/. The Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) organized the 24th Central Asia Media Conference on July 06-07 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, bringing together journalists, representatives of relevant state authorities, policymakers, media and legal experts, and researchers from both Central Asia and other parts of the world. From Mongolia, representatives of MONTSAME National News Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Human Rights Commission, the Judicial Disciplinary Committee, the Media Council, GoGo.mn, and Glob International Center attended the Conference. 

The intrinsic connection between media freedom, democracy, and common security necessitates multi-sectoral dialogue and collaboration to drive positive change in our societies. The 24th Central Asia Media Conference, hosted by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, addressed the challenges faced by the media landscape in Central Asia and work towards fostering media freedom and democratic principles in the region under the theme "At a Crossroads: Safeguarding Media Freedom to Protect Democracy."

 Several parallel sessions explored the following topics: 

1. Countering disinformation while safeguarding media freedom: Disinformation is plaguing our media and our societies, more than ever before. Countering it, however, is not an easy task. There is a delicate balance between security considerations and media freedom as a central pillar of our democratic societies. The session explored how to tackle this international problem with a multi-sectoral approach, to increase awareness of and enhance resilience to disinformation. Representatives of Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan participated in this parallel session and shared the experiences of fact-checking organizations, how they deal with misinformation in their countries, and what legal regulations apply. At the end of the session, the participants agreed that it is important to impose responsibility on those who spread false and misleading information and to establish more independent organizations that verify the authenticity of the information.
2. Freedom of expression and AI: The online information spaces are ever more shaped and arbitrated by platforms and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), which has a large impact on freedom of expression, media pluralism, democracy, and comprehensive security. This parallel explored regional implications and identify policy responses to safeguard access to reliable, diverse, and public-interest information in the digital age. 
3. Privacy, protection of journalistic sources, and digital safety: The fast-paced digital environment often poses challenges with regard to the privacy, confidentiality, and safety of journalistic sources. These challenges include surveillance, threats to encryption and anonymity, and national security/other legislation with an impact on the protection of journalistic sources. The session focused on the legislative and practical issues with these challenges, as well as internet throttling and shutdowns.
4. Safety of journalists: Mechanisms and tools for protection: Throughout the Central Asia region, journalists continue to face attacks, online threats, and harassment, including of gendered nature, in connection to their work. This session dove into regional trends, current challenges, and persisting gaps, while mapping recent response efforts, including legislative measures, and other mechanisms and tools, for enhancing the protection and safety of journalists, and combatting impunity. During this parallel session, Elira Turdubaeva, the President of the Association of PR Communicators, Kyrgyzstan, presented the survey findings, that were conducted among female journalists working in the media industry of four countries in the region. As stated in the findings, for example, women journalists in Central Asia are mostly targeted by online attacks, especially on Facebook. Anonymous or unknown trolls are the main perpetrators of online attacks or violence. Gender is most likely to provoke online attacks against self-selecting females. Even their family members face online attacks. “You should be thick-skinned” is the most common response the women journalists receive from their employers. Last but not least, the survey findings shed light on the importance of journalists' mental health in general. The Communications Officer of Globe International Center of Mongolia also presented the survey results at this session. According to their survey involving 240 urban and rural journalists of Mongolia, 95% of the participants responded that they felt psychological pressure and stress somehow.
5. Hate speech: Hate speech can seriously undermine social cohesion, pluralism, and peaceful co-existence in diverse societies. With the emergence of new digital technologies in recent decades, it has become a viral phenomenon across the Central Asia region and beyond. While important to counter, legal responses should be carefully balanced and must not be misused to suppress open democratic debate on sensitive or controversial issues of public interest. This parallel session explored what constitutes the notion of hate speech in the region and where the line is drawn between “prohibited” and “allowed”.
6. Journalism representation: Media self-regulation in Central Asia: Looking into media self-regulation (MSR) in Central Asia region, its current status and ways forward. The speakers and participants shared experiences and best practices on how to strengthen the role of MSR bodies in upholding ethical standards in journalism in the digital age. It is evident from the presentations of the countries that a media self-regulation organization is relatively well developed in our country and has reached a level that can be used as a benchmark for other Central Asian countries. At the end of the session, media self-regulation organizations of Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.
7. Media and digital literacy initiatives: We live in an increasingly saturated and invasive information ecosystem. To be able to navigate, media and digital literacy are an essential constellation of skills – necessary for freedom of expression and access to information, and for building pluralistic and well-informed democratic societies. Media literacy is crucial because it helps people understand the messages that are being communicated to them. With so many sources of information today, media literacy can help people identify reliable sources and filter through the noise to get to the truth. According to the National Association of Media Literacy Education, media literacy encompasses a range of competencies, including analyzing the content and critically understanding the underlying messages. In this context, this session explored inspiring and impactful regional projects and initiatives in Central Asia and internationally that contribute to citizens to better understand of the role of media and think critically about the news they receive. For instance, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have included media literacy in their secondary and high school curriculum as optional or compulsory courses. The initiative has already yielded results, especially in Kazakhstan. A survey conducted among the 6500 8th-grade students showed that 61% have high media literacy.

Additionally, the conference featured various side events, including discussions on the legal aspects of journalist safety, an AI masterclass, a movie screening, and an interactive workshop.