How to find ways of cooperation to strengthen freedom of expression and digital rights in Kazakhstan? In order to answer this question, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), in partnership with PF “Wings of Liberty”, conducted a workshop for the media community and civil society.
The event took place on April 14th within the framework of the “Kazakhstan uncensored” project, funded by the European Union. The workshop was held in a cozy atmosphere at the American Space Almaty.
The “Kazakhstan uncensored” project aims to promote and protect freedom of expression in Kazakhstan. Within the next two years, research will be conducted in the field of digital rights and freedom of expression, trainings and workshops will be held for journalists and civil society representatives, as well as round tables, open space events, and information campaigns.
The workshop was attended by 18 participants, including human rights experts, civil and art activists, journalists, and other media representatives. The main goal of the event was to discuss the question: “What problems do we face in Kazakhstan in the field of freedom of expression and digital rights?” and find solutions and ways to interact.
The workshop was moderated by project manager of PF “Wings of Liberty” Dana Buralkiyeva and co-founder of PF “Wings of Liberty” Roman Reimer.
During the workshop, participants identified such problems as the lack of understanding of what freedom of expression is for ordinary citizens, the lack of communication between experts and society, self-censorship, censorship in art, and others. They noted that there are very few people in Kazakhstan who explain to the public how a particular problem affects everyone personally and why it is important.
After discussing the problems, participants brainstormed and expressed their ideas and suggestions for solving these problems. Ideas included drawing attention to the problem through accessible language and art, building a chain for adapting language and conveying complex information to society, providing a constant source of information on human rights where people can come and seek advice at any time, creating adapted information campaigns, explaining the consequences of the problem to society, bringing people together from different fields to solve one problem through idea exchange platforms, art activism, and thematic events.
Participants also noted that it is important for people to emotionally empathize with the problem. For example, when a person reads an article, they should start to feel empathy and a sense of involvement. Participants also noted that information should be presented in plain language.
The ideas and proposals gathered during the workshop will be used in conducting research on digital rights and freedom of expression, as well as to determine the themes of upcoming trainings and workshops under the “Kazakhstan Uncensored” project.
This publication was funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of IWPR and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.