World Monitor Magazine Spring | Page 42

East-West Dialogue celebrates ‘Crystal Jubilee’ Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 2018 – The 15th annual conference of Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) is preparing to celebrate its ‘crystal jubilee’ in Almaty with a review of changes affecting the East-West news agenda. From international relations to the environment, morals and the media, the discussions will bring together hundreds of delegates around the theme: ‘Fifteen years of evolution: how the world is changing and how the world is changing us.’ The three-day meeting of politicians, journalists and experts will be held on 22-24 May in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s commercial hub. This is where the Forum was founded in 2002 before moving for some years to Astana, the new capital. Since then Kazakhstan has welcomed more than 6,000 foreign delegates to the Forum, including politicians, economists, public figures, scientists, entrepreneurs and Nobel Prize laureates. The main mission of the Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) as Central Asia’s leading independent dialogue platform is to create the conditions for a free and open dialogue of politicians, journalists and experts on key issues of geopolitical, economic, and socio-cultural development affecting Kazakhstan, Eurasia and the entire international community, Ruslan Zhemkov, CEO of the Eurasian Media Forum, explains. “Focusing on the global changes of the past 15 years, the organizers plan to emphasize the growing role of the EAMF year after year as an effective and modern tool for projecting the image of the Republic of Kazakhstan abroad. “The scale and the international level of the event are an integral part of the mission of integrating our country into the global information space - thanks to the work of the Forum, Kazakhstan has gained fame in the international community at the level of key experts, world media, opinion leaders. Thus, the idea of holding the Forum found wide support among the leading international media - more than 1,500 representatives of reputable world media, including Euronews, CNN, BBC, Associated Press Television News, Reuters, Bloomberg, New York Times, Al Jazeera English, ITAR -TASS, RIA Novosti, RBC, Russia Today, First Channel, IA "Cihan" and others.” This year the speakers include Matteo Renzi, former Prime Minister of Italy; Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; Elaine Conkevich, UN Women's Representative; Harlem Desir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media; US Senator Max Baucus; Tetsunari Iida, Director of Japan's Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies; Roger Fisk, political strategist for Barack Obama, This year, plenary sessions are planned in and Simon McKee, former press secretary of the accordance with the following topics: "Evolution of international relations: global cooling", UK Foreign Minister. "Evolution of the European Union", "Evolution Among the media panellists will be Gavin Hewitt, of the environment: the inevitable apocalypse or transition to a green economy", "Evolution of former BBC Chief Correspondent and Europe trust in society: how to manage it in the modern Editor, Renaud Girard, journalist of Le Figaro, world?", "Evolution of information technology France, and Sophie Shevardnadze, Russian from facts to fake news. Is it worth worrying? journalist, producer and TV presenter. As in "," Evolution of media: the growth of the previous years, international television presenter blogosphere - a threat or progress? "," Evolution of Riz Khan will chair the conference. values and morals: who forms a new world view ". The program of the jubilee Forum also includes a Ruslan Zhemkov adds: "Content for The EAMF first day of specialist master-classes covering a 2018 traditionally touches upon a wide range range of new media issues. 40 world monitor of important contemporary issues of our time, including global reorganization of the world, possible interaction scenarios, rapid information technologies growth and the concept of a "green economy", as a basis for sustainable development. I am sure that within framework of the jubilee program we will demonstrate the huge contribution to the Forum in the implementation of the long-term strategy of country PR, accumulate experience gained over the years, give a fresh assessment of the most important trends and challenges of our time, relevant topics of the global agenda.” In past years, the speakers at the EAMF have included ex-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Khatami, the 12th Afghan President Hamid Karzai, American diplomats Richard Holbrooke and Richard Perle, former US Congressman, Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council Harold Ford, former UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw , ex-Minister of Tourism of Greece and Member of Parliament Olga Kefaloyanni, former Supreme Allied Commander-in-Chief, General Wesley Clark, former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha, former US National Security Adviser, political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski, British futurist Ray Hammond, famous journalists Vladimir Pozner, Maxim Shevchenko, Mikhail Leontiev, Peter Lavelle, Paul Sleeier, Stephen Cole, Nick Gowing, heads of ITAR-TASS news agency Vitaly Ignatenko and Mikhail Gusman, writer Chingiz Aitmatov and others. General partner of the XV Eurasian Media Forum – JSC “National Welfare Fund “Samruk- Kazyna”. NB: The number of places is limited. Media partnership contacts: Dmitry Gordiyenko M: + 7 701 216 88 62 Aksulu Arzykulova М: +7 702 888 3138 E: [email protected]