the long road to media freedom

Last week I spoke at one of the strangest conferences, in one of the most far flung places, I've ever been to - the Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The conference brings together journalists, business leaders, academics and politicians for two days of discussion ranging from news coverage of global events such as the current economic crisis to the implications of the Obama Presidency on East-West relations.

I went, at least in part, in the hope that by talking about the tools and techniques of blogging and social media, I could encourage delegates to think about being more open, transparent and direct in their dealings with audiences, consumers and, for the politicians in attendance, the populaces they govern. It was my usual sort of presentation but in unusual circumstances because, little did I know as I was speaking, something rather unusual was going on outside the building. Dan Kennedy covered the action outside, and what happened in the subsequent panel which we both participated in, on his blog Media Nation:

"The InterContinental Hotel in Almaty, Kazakhstan, is about as isolating an experience as you can imagine. The luxurious surroundings — and the ever-present security guards — effectively separated the several hundred journalists attending last week's Eurasian Media Forum from whatever was going on outside.

So it was something of a surprise when that separation was breached last Friday afternoon. Between a panel on the global media crisis, which I moderated, and a panel on blogging, in which I participated, several people approached us with handouts, warning of proposed laws that would crack down on Kazakhstan's burgeoning blogosphere. We exchanged pleasantries, and that seemed to be that.

Then, during the blogging panel, one of them — an audacious 24-year-old woman named Yevgeniya Plakhina, wearing a shirt that proclaimed "SHHH!" — got up and demanded to know why six of her friends had been arrested for demonstrating against the proposals.

The moderator, Vladimir Rerikh, a Kazakh journalist, clearly wanted the issue, and Plakhina, to go away. But Danny Schechter, a well-known American progressive journalist, spoke up on Plakhina's behalf, and she was able to continue pressing her case. (Here is Schechter's account.) The organizer of the conference, Dariga Nazarbayeva, the daughter of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, could be seen talking on her cell phone, leaving the hall and returning several times..."

Local campaigners fear that the law in question, explains Matthew Collin [on the Frontline Club blog - a Headshift project] who reports for Al Jazeera from Georgia and was another of the panelists in the blogging session, would "put serious restrictions on internet journalists and bloggers and potentially allow the authorities to block sites on political grounds."

Danny Schechter reports that the arrested protesters were later freed by authorities, quoting an email he received from Plakhina, which read “I really appreciate your help. Thanx. My friends are OK. I guess the authorities were afraid of international scandal, so an advisor to the president took care of letting my friends out..."

Needless to say, the panel discussion didn't exactly go as those of us on it had planned, nor - I suspect - as the organisers had intended. But I'm glad it happened - the protest I mean - and hope that, by being one of the many foreign participants in the conference, just being there helped ensure that the protesters and their colleagues both reach a wider audience with their appeal and remain safe from arrest whilst doing so.

The whole incident reminded me that media freedom is a precious, and all to rare, freedom. And blogging is, I think, an important tool for helping those who are brave enough to fight for it to make themselves heard. It's a long long way from the worlds of media and corporate blogging which I usually inhabit to the scenes I at least partially witnessed in Almaty but I hope that, some day, when they've won their fight for rights, blogging will become as everyday and mundane - and safe - as it is for me and most of you reading this.

Comments

[Stefan Martens]

Thanks for sharing this experience, very inspiring!

When I got more spare time (currently finishing my MA Thesis & working for TakingITGLobal and artist8, a Berlin or rather web-based startup - it's fun though), I'll start blogging about social media in different countries; I've always been interested in cultural differences and when it comes to social media, one can certainly learn a lot about the cultures in question.

I almost wrote my thesis about it, analyzing social networks for cultural differences, but that would have been to empirical for me ;-)

Btw: Ole told me that your meeting at the design museum was quite fruitful! Glad to hear that!

Cheers,
Stefan

[Dan Kennedy]

Nice item, Robin, and great meeting you in Almaty. If you had not lent me your phone, this might never have happened:

http://is.gd/vuWQ

Thanks again, and perhaps we'll see each other in Kazakhstan next year as well.