7. Information and Media Cooperation
7. Information and Media Cooperation
Considering the role of media and information in the world and realizing the need for developing cooperation in this field, the Organization of Turkic States devoted its 5th Summit held on 11 September 2015 in Astana to the “Cooperation in Media and Information sphere”. Within this cooperation process, the “Organization of Turkic States Joint Cooperation Protocol on Information and Media”, “Protocol of Cooperation among the National TV Channels of the Member States of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States”, and “Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation among official News Agencies of the Member States of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States” were signed.

Contact Group was established on the basis of the national TV channels, consisting of technical, financial, news programs specialists which concentrate on education, culture, sport and news themes in order to accelerate the process of exchanging of information and creating joint projects. The official News Agencies of the Member States also continued cooperation within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States and publish in their official websites, on a permanent basis, the news about the international activities of the Organization of Turkic States and its affiliated institutions. The Republic of Azerbaijan hosted the 8th Meeting of the Working Group and the 3rd Meeting of the Ministers and High Officials in charge of Information and Media on 9-10 April 2021 in Baku. As a result of these meetings, the Parties approved the “Action Plan for 2021-2022” to strengthen cooperation with concrete programs and projects and agreed to establish a Media Coordination Committee consisting of the high-level representatives of the Member States to coordinate and supervise the implementation of the relevant instructions of the Heads of States, decisions of the Ministers and Action Plan for 2021-2022. They also agreed to maximize the potential of the established Joint FTP Pool, increasing joint production of video films, serials, video materials on the common history and culture of the Member States, as well as organizing the exchange programs and training courses for media experts.

OTS Social Media Training Program was organized in Istanbul on 29-30 July 2021 in line with the decisions taken at the 3rd Meeting of the OTS Ministers and High Officials in Charge of Information and Media held on 10 May 2021. The Training Program was hosted by the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye and attended by around 100 participants from the Member and Observer States. During the training program, issues related to the use of social media, combating disinformation, cyber security threats and the experience of Türkiye in these fields were discussed. At the margins of the training program, the 1st Meeting of the Media Coordination Committee of the Organization of Turkic States was organized in order to discuss the prospective plans and projects in the field of Information and Media. At the Media Coordination Committee Meeting, Parties informed each other on the activities carried out by the Member States as enshrined in the Action Plan, which is a roadmap in the sphere of information and media for the years 2021-2022. Parties further agreed to ensure deeper coordination and cooperation of the joint activities to prevent the spread of negative trends, provocations, fake news and disinformation against the Member States in social media platforms.

The OTS Media Forum under the theme “Deep-rooted Past, Strong Future” was held on 22-24 October 2021 in Istanbul. More than 500 participants, including prominent media representatives, academics, social media influencers and students from the Member and Observer States also participated in the Forum.

The 4th Meeting of the Ministers and High Officials in charge of Media and Information of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was hosted by the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye on 14 May 2022 in Istanbul. In the margins of the Meeting, thematic panel sessions were held with the different thematic sessions titled “The Rising Power of Public Diplomacy in The Turkic World: Series-Film Sector”, “The Digital Future of The Turkic World: Metaverse”, “Possibilities for Cooperation in Public Broadcasting in Light of the Turkic World\'s Common Future Vision” and “Combating Disinformation in The Post-Truth Era\". At the end of the meeting, the high-level participants agreed to hold the International Media Forums annually, organize training and exchange programs for media professionals in order to ensure exchange of experience, strengthen cooperation in the joint fights against fake news and disinformation, conducting monthly joint television programs and further increase the number of video productions in digital media. The Heads of Delegation further discussed the establishment of an International Turkic News Channel, increasing the capacity and quality of visual exchange between national broadcasters, creating of the common association of journalists and arranging joint training of the spokespersons and press advisors of the official institutions of the Member and Observer States.

Within the cooperation activities in this field, the First Meeting of Audio-Visual Media Regulators of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Baku and Susha on 27-28 October 2022 with the participation of the audiovisual media regulatory authorities of the Member and Observer States of the OTS.

At the meeting, Parties informed each other and delivered presentations regarding the scope of work of their respective institutions and discussed the prospective cooperation opportunities among the Turkic States in the field of audio-visual media regulation. Parties agreed to establish Turkic Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (TBRAF) under the umbrella of the OTS and signed declaration of will in Shusha, which aims to create institutional framework for the prospective cooperation opportunities between the audio-visual regulatory authorities of the Member and Observer States. On the margins of the Meeting, Second Media Coordination Committee Meeting of the OTS was also organized with the participation of the officials from the Media and Information Ministries of the Member and Observer States. At the meeting Parties updated each other on the establishment of the Turkic News Agencies Union, exchanged views and comments on the draft regulation for the establishment of the “Association of Journalists of the Organization of Turkic States” as well agreed to organize training programs for media professionals/Joint training of the spokespersons/press secretaries of the Ministries in the upcoming period.


Last Update: 17.08.2024 12:54:48