South Kyrgyzstan: Innovations in community broadcasting

Sources of Information Exercise © Irina Shmakova, Tashkumyr, Kyrgyzstan

29 October 2015

From 17 - 18 October 2015 in Osh city was held a training on programming and making local news. The training was organized with the support of the International Programme for the Development of Communication of UNESCO (IPDC).

Thanks to our trainers, we have learned how to use mobile technologies for the making news, which greatly enhances access to information for our people.

Musuratilla Iskanov, volunteer of community multimedia center from Sulukta, Kyrgyzstan

There are four community radio that broadcast programs and twenty-four community multimedia centers using narrowcasting to achieve their target audiences.

The first training workshop was held for the community radio and community multimedia centers (CMC) from Naryn, Talas, Chui, Issyk-Kul regions in Bishkek. Current training supported CMCs from Jalal-Abad, Osh and Batken regions. Participants were four CMC from south of Kyrgyzstan: Kyzyl-Bulak, Kenesh Nuru, Chintamani and Sulukta.

Executive Director of the Association of Community Media, Zhusupova Nazira, talked about the main goal of the training: "The quality of the news content and delivery. We expect the reaction of communities on published news.@

The training was conducted in a form of roleplaying games, discussions and news publishing. After the training, multimedia centers Chintamani and Sulukta received new devices. The volunteers learned how to post digital photos and short video with mobile ICTs.

"The first smartphone we have received from the joint project of the United Nations, UNESCO, in 2014. Now, in our center, two devices that significantly expands access to information for the local community. Thanks to the trainers we have learned to compose, arrange and publish the news,"- said Musuratilla Iskanov, volunteer of community multimedia center from Sulukta.

At the end of the second day of the training workshop, participants have learned to identify sources of information and developed rules of the volunteers in their media centers