Quarterly Progress Report: Central Asia Media Program

The program's overarching goal is to develop a more balanced information environment in Central Asia, increasing openness among youth and adults for differing ideas, opinions, and perspectives, and in turn, increasing their engagement in civic participation. MediaCAMP's activities are implemented toward meeting three objectives: improving media capacity, increasing media and information literacy, and improving the legal enabling environment for media. MediaCAMP's efforts in Kazakhstan have yielded significant results. Jamilya Maricheva, founder and editor of the ProTenge anticorruption media project, was recognized as one of the 11 winners of the U.S. Department of State's 2021 Anticorruption Champions Award. The ProTenge project achieved great success in revealing common corruption schemes and misuses of the state budget in Kazakhstan. Additionally, media outlets that received Financial Future Grants in Year 3 began to attract non-donor, non-owner funds. Manshuk Media signed several business contracts for the production of commercial podcasts with mobile operator Kcell, HomeCredit Bank, and Pfizer, while Petropavlovsk News attracted five new advertisers to support the new season of the "You&City" talk show. MediaCAMP has also strengthened its cooperation with Kazakhstani government agencies on media literacy. Meetings were held in the capital, Nur-Sultan, with key stakeholders in the field of education who have influence on high school and university curricula in Kazakhstan. A presentation of Internews' Media Literacy Manual for university professors in Kazakh was arranged, which was the first MediaCAMP offline media literacy event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. As a result of these meetings, MediaCAMP noted the increased interest of government agencies in the development of media literacy. In Tajikistan, MediaCAMP has also made significant progress. The program has supported the development of citizen reporting networks, with a focus on increasing citizens' ability to engage with and produce news and information. MediaCAMP has also built additional avenues for citizen engagement with local media, including the development of online media literacy and analysis resources. MediaCAMP's activities are implemented through a range of initiatives, including grants and technical support for quality content production, inclusive content labs, and recognition of outstanding journalism. The program also provides professional development opportunities for media practitioners, including thematic and skills-based training, and media trainings. Additionally, MediaCAMP has established a New/Youth Media Accelerator to support the development of new and youth media outlets. MediaCAMP's efforts to improve the legal enabling environment for media have also yielded significant results. The program has supported efforts to improve the legal and regulatory environment for media, including support and improvement of legal monitoring, analysis, and advocacy. MediaCAMP has also strengthened media industry associations for improved representation and self-regulation, and built the capacity of relevant government agencies and legislatures. Overall, MediaCAMP's activities have made significant progress in improving content quality and audience engagement, strengthening media outlet financial sustainability, increasing media literacy, and strengthening the enabling environment in Central Asia. The program's efforts have yielded significant results, including the recognition of outstanding journalism, the development of citizen reporting networks, and the strengthening of media industry associations.