Thursday, April 21

08.00-09.00: Registration of delegates
09.20-10.30: Conference Opening Ceremony

       *Conference Chair: Riz KHAN, Broadcaster, journalist, USA

       *Welcome Address by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
       Nursultan NAZARBAYEV

       *Welcome Message from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir PUTIN delivered by Grigoriy RAPOTA, Secretary General of the Eurasian Economic Community

       *Welcome Message from NATO Secretary General Mr. Jaap DE HOOP SCHEFFER

       *Welcome Speech by Michael GOLDEN, Publisher, International Herald Tribune, Vice Chairman of the New York Times Company

*Message from the UN Secretary-General Kofi A. ANNAN

       *Welcome and Conference Introduction by the Chair of the Eurasian Media Forum Organizing Committee, Dr. Dariga NAZARBAYEVA

10.30-11.00: Coffee break
11.00-13.00: Plenary Session #1

DISASTER IN ASIA

The tsunami disaster in Asia posed a huge challenge for journalists around the world. The sheer scale of the tragedy meant it was difficult to provide an extensive and accurate picture of what had happened and the devastation created widespread logistical problems for the media. In this session we examine the record of the UN and other agencies in responding to the disaster and assess how international journalists covered the tsunami and its aftermath. Did the media strike the right tone in its reports over what was a holiday period for many viewers, listeners and readers? Did they find the right balance between reporting on the casualties from their own countries and the wider death toll from all nations? And did they focus too much on the immediate suffering and not enough on longer-term aid efforts and what can be done to try to prevent such disasters in future?

Chair: Jim Laurie, Executive Producer, FocusAsiaTV.org, Senior Consultant Broadcasting, Journalism Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
Panelists:
Peter Vickers, Head of Content, Eurovision, Switzerland
May Ying Welsh, Indochina Correspondent, Channel News Asia International
Timothy Arlott, Business Manager, Reuters Television, UK
Achara Husbumrer, Deputy Director-General, Government Public Relations Department (National Broadcasting Services of Thailand)

13.00-14.00: Lunch
14.00-15.30: Plenary Session #2

MEDIA LAW

The process of regulating the activities of the media is a challenge for all modern states. Be too heavy-handed and governments will be accused of censorship and opponents of press freedom. Be too disorganised and the media may merely serve a narrow range of commercial interests with poor editorial standards. Where should the lines be drawn in drawing up media laws? The current debates in many countries about the introduction of more restrictive media and anti-terrorism laws will also be discussed. How do these moves impact on the issues of freedom of speech and free access to information?
Legal issues for the media not just involve politics but also cultural and religious issues including the example of covering the controversy over the banning of the wearing of headscarves in French schools. Media lawyers, politicians and journalists from a number of countries debate who has the best model of media regulation and what are the pitfalls to be avoided.

Chair: Andrei Richter, Director, Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute
Panelists:
Michael Golden, Publisher, International Herald Tribune, Vice Chairman of the New York Times Company
Prem Prakash, Chairman, Asian News International, India
Boris Reznik, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Information Policy, State Duma, Russia
Dr. Anatoliy Matukhin, President of “Adilet” Law Academy, Kazakhstan
Sergei Gretsky, Professor of Political Science, Central Asia and the Caucasus Centre for Social and Political Studies, USA

15.30-16.00: Coffee break
16.00-17.30: Plenary Session #3

TRAUMA AND JOURNALISM

Journalists are in the firing line as never before. Dozens are killed every year while covering brutal conflicts. Less obvious is the emotional price that can be paid. Like the police or rescue services journalists are First Responders to trauma but so far the journalism profession has not taken seriously the psychological damage that can follow. Trauma also looms large in most modern journalism. Probably two in every three major stories in the news every day deal at some level with trauma - whether it's crime or war, conflict or abuse, disaster or personal loss. All this means many journalists can suffer emotional problems. One of the main experts in this field is Mark Brayne of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma in Europe. In this session he asks whether journalists and their employers are taking these problems seriously enough.

Producer & Speaker: Mark Brayne, Director Europe, Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma

19.00-22.00: Welcome Reception hosted by the Almaty City Mayor

Mr. Imangali Tasmagambetov, Ritz Palace