DUSHANBE, June 25, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- On Thursday June 26, the Independent School of Journalism “Tajikistan – 21st Century” will host a roundtable meeting to discuss issues related to establishment of an efficient cooperation between media and press services of state institutions on promptly providing the public with reliable socially significant information. 

The meeting is part of the “Access to Information: Cooperation and Transparency” project, which is implemented by the School under support of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. 

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the School executive director Safo Safarov said that the objective of the project is to promote providing access to information of significance for society through raising professionalism of journalists and establishment of the efficient cooperation between representatives of media and state institutions’ press services.

According to him, the project provides for holding of a series of seminars and master-classes for 40 journalists and employees of press services of the state institutions as well as arrangement and holding of working meetings formally titled “Cooperation between Media and Press Services: Achievements and Prospects” for establishment of constructive dialogue between media and state institutions’ press services.

Besides, the project also includes creating a theme manual for targeted groups in two languages (Tajik and Russian) and providing technical-information consultative support to the targeted group.

The meeting participants are expected to include representatives of president’s office, employees of press services of the state institutions, parliament and the supreme court, as well as representatives of media, public associations and international organizations.  

Established in June 1999, the Independent School of Journalism “Tajikistan – 21st Century” aims to promote improvement of professionalism of journalists, development of Tajikistan’s information market, ad strengthening of competitiveness of media.  Over the period of its activity, the School has implemented some 20 projects, including “Tajikistan’s Journalism in New Century”, “Management in Media”, “Journalistic Resource Center” as well as the cross-border project “Tajikistan-Afghanistan: Bridges of Friendship”, etc.   As part of the projects, the School has conducted seminars, trainings and training courses on raising professionalism of journalists, instructing media personnel in modern methods of management and marketing, information and computer technologies, norms of journalistic ethics, etc.