Five mobile community media centers launched in Kyrgyzstan

6 December 2013

Near a hundred items are being published by community media centers (CMC) in Kyrgyzstan in 2013. New centers opened in Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Osh, Batken and Jalal-Abad provinces. These centers use a digital technology of creating and publishing information and news reports. Two centers in Chui province are functional from 2012.

UNESCO Almaty Office under EU-UN Project “Operationalizing Good Governance for Social Justice in Kyrgyzstan“, centers were provided with equipment and training. UN Information Office of the UN Department of Public Information (based in Almaty) provided technical support to two centers as well.

Thus, the rural population got an effective tool which allows them to speak loudly about their local problems, that can accelerate their further solution.

Giving publicity to local issues at a national level serves as additional motivating factor for the local administration officers.

During the project, I realized how to make people to interact properly with the government.The community media centers serve as communicators between the local population and municipal authorities.

Rysbek Mamatov, Coordinator, Kyzyl-Bulak Mobile Community Multimedia Center.

“During the project, I realized how to make people to interact properly with the government. The community media centers serve as communicators between the local population and municipal authorities,” says Rysbek Mamatov, Kyzyl-Bulak MCMC coordinator.

Project participants not only learned to find vital information efficiently, but also to distribute it in their community through various communication channels.

Kloop Media Public Foundation, the partner of UNESCO in this project, has developed an effective concept - "One interface - multiple channels of communication."

The maximum number of potentially accessible channels of communication are used to spread collected information. News stories, collected by MCMC teams, are distributed through social networks, Kyrgyzmedia.com web platform and sms-newsletter. In two villages - Djal and Kara-Suu - news reports are also spread through speakers and village assemblies.

The UN system in Kyrgyzstan with support of the European Union developed a joint project “Operationalizing Good Governance for Social Justice”, to operationalize good governance in the context of improving access to public service delivery and addressing the rights of the most vulnerable groups (children, women and youth). The project started in October 2011 and was implemented during 36 months until October 2014 in 30 rural municipalities in seven regions of Kyrgyzstan. This project was implemented by four UN Agencies - UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and UNESCO. The European Union co-financed this project together with the above-mentioned UN agencies.

The news reports of mobile community media centers can be found on the website of the project Kyrgyzmedia.com.