Broadcasting experts gather for ABU’s inaugural Central Asia summit

More than 160 broadcasting professionals from Central Asia and around the world are gathering in Kyrgyzstan for a major regional forum on developing their services in the digital age.

The ABU Central Asia Media Forum in Bishkek from 26-28 August 2013 will see three days of workshops, seminars and a summit of regional media leaders together with experts and speakers from around the globe.

The event will gather together content makers, producers, engineers, news reporters and senior management executives for a forum that ABU Secretary-General Dr Javad Mottaghi says will “provide an excellent platform for Central Asian broadcasters and other media players to share their experiences and to extend mutual collaboration”.

“In the rapidly developing world of technology and content creation, it is a matter of priority for every broadcaster to position itself in the new environment, enhance staff skills and develop their facilities,” he said. 

“The ABU is happy for the first ABU-Central Asia Media Forum to empower the broadcasters in the Central Asia region to achieve these objectives.” 

The event organisers say there are many established and emerging broadcasting organisations in the Central Asian States of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan and most of them are members of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. 

The ABU and its partners will bring experts and broadcasters together to discuss how to face various challenges – from developing infrastructure, choosing and implementing new technologies, developing new genres of content and accessing audiences with new services.

The event is being co-hosted with the ABU’s local partners New Broadcasting System (NTS) and the Public Broadcasting Corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic (OTRK). It will start with two days of workshops and seminars, with the third day devoted to the summit with an international list of expert speakers.