Internews is conducting a final session of its regional training the “Environmental Media School: Conflict-Sensitive TV Journalism” for over 20 media professionals and citizen journalists from Central Asia on March 27-30 in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic. The event is conducted as a part of series of the conflict-sensitive reporting trainings for journalists and developed under the “Media for Improved Reporting on Environment and Natural Resources in Central Asia” project funded by the European Union and implemented by Internews.

The regional training will equip journalists with the skills to provide general audience with professional, balanced and in line with international journalism standards information and news on the environmental and natural resources-related topics. The final regional training has been preceded by three in-country workshops held in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan and involved over 40 journalists developing their TV/video materials with the focus on problematic topics. The best TV/video stories from each in-country workshops were selected to further enhance storyline to the regional level.

During the four-day event, participants from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan will work in small international teams to produce TV or online materials with regional focus on environmental and natural resources-related issues. Journalists will work on their projects assisted and advised by mentors and experts in respective areas. The workshops will be led by Denis Bevz, a well-known TV journalist, producer, media trainer and the winner of the 2008 TEFI Award.

About Internews’ project: The “Media for Improved Reporting on Environment and Natural Resources in Central Asia” project’s goals are to improve communication and collaboration between CSOs and media professionals from Central Asian countries through regional exchange reporting trips, thematic educational events on the environment and natural resources, and professional networking events. Working together with local CSOs and media companies, the project will develop and deploy sustainable interactive tools and platforms including data visualizations, mapping, and ways to improve civic engagement with environmental protections. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by Internews.

The proposed event will bring together over 20 media representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to produce TV and online reports on environment and natural resources in Central Asia.