The seventh Eurasian Media Forum is taking place in Kazakhstan's former capital Almaty. The event is the key venue for international dialogue in the region. Hundreds of journalists and top media personalities from across the world flew in to discuss the h
Their main goal was ways to achieve a more objective and fair coverage of world events on the Eurasian landmass and beyond. Hosting the forum is of great importance to Kazakhstan, the country’s president himself opening the event only proves that. In Kazakhstan they view the forum as a tool to promote understanding between the East and West through dialogue – something that’s key to Kazakhstan as it hopes to preside within the OSCE in the near future. The majority of debates are hard talk on serious global issues – Russia’s relationship with the West, Kosovo, frozen conflicts around the world, and the media’s influence on elections. But it’s not only critical global issues that were in the spotlight of the forum. More varied topics, such as glamour in politics, also featured. And overall, participants admit that informal discussions probably count even more than scheduled panel discussions. “The most valuable parts of these meetings, I think, are the conversations that occur alongside the formal sessions. And I think there’s been a really good mix – conversation and dialogue among people from different countries,” said Martha Brill Olcott from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.