Last week, the 4M Journalism and Social Media Forum came to the South Caucasus. Organised by Canal France International (CFI), previous 4M’s have been held in Nairobi, Cairo, Abidjan, Belgrade, and Tunis. Earlier this year, I had also been invited to speak at their third annual meeting in Montpellier, France, although an air traffic controller strike meant I arrived a day late and couldn’t.
Regardless, it was then that CFI approached me regarding my involvement in the organisation of the 4M Journalism and Social Media Forum in the South Caucasus. Naturally, as participants would be invited from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, the event was held in Tbilisi.
Acting in a consultancy capacity and working closely with CFI’s Sophie Le Bars, I drew up much of last week’s programme as well as the list of participants based in the region. In total, 22 participants from Armenia, 24 from Azerbaijan, and over 40 from Georgia, along with a dozen international speakers, were invited.
As someone who has attended quite a few media and social media conferences which generally invite the same names year after year, we particularly wanted to strike a balance between established names and newcomers. Media specialists in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia — along with the French Embassies in each — also suggested a few participants.
And as the event would involve Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians, as well as international speakers, we also wanted to create an environment for networking and making connections across borders.
Indeed, prior to the main two days of the forum held on the 14-15 November, there was a CFI and BBC Media Action-led ENPI media networking event a day before. With speakers focusing on citizen and social media in the context of integrating new sources into mainstream coverage, the afternoon also particularly focused on conflict, an issue of particular relevance in the South Caucasus.
As part of the European Union funded Media Neighbourhood project, a major journalism Networking Event is taking place in Tbilisi, Georgia on November 13th 2013.
Entitled Social Media, New and Unchartered Territory for Journalism the event will focus on the increasing role of social media in journalism, its limitations and potential as well as examine the issue of journalism ethics in covering conflicts. This event will be followed by a major regional conference organised on November 14th and 15th November 2013 by Canal France International (CFI) who is also part of the BBC Media Action led consortium implementing the Media Neighbourhood project.
Around 70 young online journalists are expected to take part in panel discussions which will be moderated by guest speakers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, France, Georgia, Lebanon, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.
Jean-Michel Duffrène, Media Neighbourhood Team Leader says:
‘’Networking is an essential part of journalism. Media professionals cannot work, cannot operate in isolation. This is a great opportunity for the media community from various countries to meet, exchange, discuss, debate and compare.’’
Jonne Catshoek presented Elva, a crowd sourcing platform deployed on the South Ossetia ABL, and the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) also had representatives from their Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia offices to discuss conflict reporting. Naturally, I presented my own work in this area as it pertained to the use of social media and my Conflict Voices project.
Ongoing since 2008, the project has been particularly successful in connecting Armenians and Azerbaijanis online as well as disseminating alternative narratives on the Karabakh conflict. Presented at numerous events worldwide, the last two times were for the OSCE in Dublin and U.S. State Department in Abu Dhabi so it was nice to talk about it again in the South Caucasus.
My presentation slides are below.
Back to the main conference though. Although networking was again a key objective, so too was identifying and discussing key issues and problems relating to the media in the region. Where possible, each panel involved speakers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Where relevant and appropriate, foreign speakers shared international experience.
Hosted by myself with an introductory speech from David Hivet, CFI’s Mediterranean-Asia Manager, and Matt Shelley, IREX Georgia Chief of Party, first up was examining online trends in the region followed by a discussion on the situation in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, especially examining experiences from this year’s presidential elections in all three.
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia declared their independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, but over 20 years later concerns with freedom of the media and freedom of expression still linger.
Editorial independence is often questionable and few media outlets are financially self-sustainable.
Conflict and political instability has also created more obstacles for journalists, while the media in all three countries, for whatever reason, rarely reports on anything other than national news, usually in the capital. International news is usually copy and pasted from foreign media sources.
Yet, in recent years, that situation has started to change as more journalists along with a new generation of citizen journalists embrace the Internet. Have online tools opened up the region and empowered better coverage both nationally and internationally?
And if so, what remains to be done?
DAY ONE
Internet Access and the Media in the South CaucasusAs Internet penetration continues to increase in the South Caucasus more and more media outlets are finding a place online. New publications continue to appear and social media has increased the potential audience for news, information and opinion. Through their household surveys conducted annually, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have collected and analysed data on online usage, media consumption and other trends in the region.
Speaker:
Tina Zurabishvili, Research Director, Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), Georgia
Breathing New Life into Information?
This year saw presidential elections held in each of the three South Caucasus countries and both online and social media once played an important role. Activists also used new tools to organize and mobilize while civil society organizations used crowdsourcing platforms to monitor them. How well did professional and citizen media journalists perform their role? Has the reality lived up to the hype? Is the Internet democratizing information by providing citizen and media professional alike a new space for reporting and self-expression online? What are the challenges, limitations, and risks?
Moderator:
Max Delany, Caucasus Correspondent, Agence France Presse, Georgia
Speakers:
Emin Milli, Meydan TV, Azerbaijan
Samvel Martirosyan, Director, iDitord, Armenia
Tiko Tsomaia, Assistant professor, GIPA, Georgia
New Economic Models in a New Media Environment
Both the traditional and online media in the South Caucasus face significant problems when it comes to financial sustainability which in turn raises concerns with regards to editorial independence. What steps are being taken in the South Caucasus to address this and what new initiatives are there that explore new economic models for the online media globally?
Moderator:
Mathias Huter, Senior analyst, Transparency International, Georgia
Speakers:
Pierre Boucaud, Founder, MarsActu, France
Irina Sak, CEO, Publicis CCAR (Caucasus & Central Asia region), Georgia
Crowdfunding
With the media facing financial obstacles in transitional and developing economies, the situation is even more difficult for citizen journalists and independent grassroots movements. Registered media outlets and civil society organizations do receive funding in the short term, but how can crowdfunding encourage a sustainable media as well as the participation of citizens in news gathering?
Moderator:
Onnik James Krikorian, Journalist, former Global Voices Caucasus Regional Editor, UK
Speakers:
Micheline Tobia, Co-founder, Editor, Mashallah News, Lebanon
Adrineh Gregorian, Director/Producer, Profile Pictures, Armenia
Copyright
Although always an issue in the South Caucasus, copyright has become a more serious one this year. With competition for readers even more of a problem in the age of Facebook, some online outlets are ready to do anything to rise to or remain on top. How can publications, journalists, photographers, and other media professionals protect their copyright and make sure it is recognised as theirs in legal terms?
Moderator: Elza Ketsbaia, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), mentor BBC media action, Georgia
Speakers:
Suren Deheryan, President, Journalists for the Future NGO, Armenia
Tamar Rukhadze, Executive Director, The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Georgia
Professional and Citizen Journalists Working Together
Often viewed as in competition with each other, a lack of mutual trust prevents professional and citizen journalists from working together. In the South Caucasus, however, some citizen journalists have a professional media background or are specialists within civil society organizations. And with more and more citizens also using social media to express themselves, how can professional and citizen journalists not only co-inhabit the same space, but also cooperate and strengthen each other?
Moderator: Pierre Boucaud, MarsActu founder, France
Speakers:
Natallia Radzina, Editor in chief, Charter 97, Belarus
Nigar Hacizade, Social Media Editor, Al Jazeera, Azerbaijan
The Power of Images
Images have the power to linger in the minds of the public longer than words, but photojournalism in the South Caucasus remains underdeveloped. Even if that situation is slowly changing, online image theft and limited budgets prevent many photojournalists from earning a living from their trade. However, new opportunities now exist online for photography – if photographers and editors embrace new tools and practices.
Moderator:
Anush Babajanyan, Photographer, Coordinator at 4Plus Documentary Photography Center, Armenia
Speakers:
Thomas Dworzak, Photographer, Magnum Photos, Georgia
Sylvain Estibal, Photo Director Europe/Africa, Agence France Presse, France
Online Television
With many television stations in the South Caucasus owned or linked directly to governmental or pro- governmental political parties or individuals, can the Internet offer an alternative? In 2002, the Armenian TV station A1 Plus lost its broadcasting frequency and is now only available online while in Azerbaijan the Baku- based Objektiv TV and Berlin-based Meydan TV are doing the same.
Moderator:
Emin Milli, Director, Meydan TV, Azerbaijan
Speakers:
Emin Huseynov, CEO, Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, Azerbaijan
Yuri Manvelyan, Editor, Epress.am, Armenia
New Tools for a New Audience
As penetration rates for social networking sites such as Facebook increase at impressive rates in the South Caucasus, other online tools and platforms such as Twitter are often overlooked. What other tools exist and how can professional and citizen journalists use them to reach and engage a wider audience? In particular, tools such as Storify offer journalists new opportunities to become curators of information.
Speaker:
Prune Antoine, Freelance journalist, France
DAY TWO
Investigative Reporting
Over two decades since independence was declared, levels of corruption remain high in each of the three South Caucasus countries. At the same time, many issues remain unaddressed by much of the traditional media. What new possibilities does the Internet offer investigative journalists in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia?
Moderator:
Elizabeth Owen, Caucasus/Turkey news editor, EurasiaNet.org, Georgia
Speakers:
Anne Dastakian, Senior reporter, Marianne, France
Nana Naskidashvili, Journalist, Studio Monitor, Georgia
Vusala Alibayli, Journalist, Radio Azadliq (RFE), Azerbaijan
Lianna Sayadyan, Deputy Editor, Hetq Online, Armenia
Charter 97
Charter 97 in Belarus is a human rights declaration modelled on the Charter 77 declaration in Czechoslovakia. Not only is it an initiative that organizes demonstrations and other actions, but also a web site that publishes news. In 2011, Charter 97’s editor-in-chief, Natallia Radzina, received the International Press Freedom Award.
Speaker:
Natallia Radzina, Editor in chief, Charter 97, Belarus
Online Security and Protecting Sources
With recent revelations detailing how the National Security Agency (NSA) in the U.S. gained access to private data, online security and privacy continues to be a major issue affecting everyone. And with more activists and journalists using social media risking arrest and prosecution worldwide for doing so, the same is true in the South Caucasus. What are the best methods and practices for ensuring optimum security as well as the protection of sources?
Speaker:
Johann Bihr, Head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk, Reporters Without Borders, France
Reporting from the Regions
The media, as well as media consumption, is strongest in the capitals of the three South Caucasus countries while the situation in the regions, including among minority communities, is the weakest. What new approaches are being taken to change the situation?
Moderator:
Angela Nicoara, Country Director, IREX Azerbaijan
Speakers:
Levon Barseghyan, Council Chairman, Journalists’ Club “Asparez” NGO, Armenia
Natia Kuprashvili, Executive Director, Georgian Association of Regional Broadcasters, Georgia
Carte Blanche
Media and Digital Revolutions (Innovations, Trends, Future)
Speaker:
Benoit Thieulin, National Digital Council President, La Netscouade General Director, France
Education and Ethics
New approaches are crucial for journalists to adapt to a new media environment, but media education and literacy in general, as well as adhering to journalist ethics and standards, are still as important as ever. What is the situation in the South Caucasus and what obstacles still need to be overcome?
Moderator:
Beka Bajelidze, Caucasus Regional Director, Institute for War and Peace Report (IWPR), Georgia
Speakers:
Tamuna Gabisonia, Senior Journalism Education Officer, IREX Georgia
Zviad Koridze, Member of the Board, Georgian Charter of the Journalistic Ethics, Georgia
Visualizing Data
Facts and figures are crucial in covering important issues, but are often either ignored. Data can also be difficult to obtain and when it is available is presented to the public in ways that are often difficult to understand. What obstacles exist in collecting data and how can referencing or visualizing it strengthen reporting?
Moderator:
Jonne Catshoek, Director, Elva Community Engagement, Netherlands
Speakers:
Pierre Romera, Chief Technology Officer, Journalism ++, France
Eric Barrett, Executive Director, Jumpstart, Georgia
The Convergence of Old and New
Over the past two days we’ve heard many examples of new approaches being taken by professional and citizen journalists online. We’ve also heard about the convergence of traditional media and the new. Are we seeing a convergence of the two and is the term ‘new media’ now redundant?
Moderator:
Nigar Hacizade, Social Media Editor, Al Jazeera, Azerbaijan
Speakers:
Shorena Shaverdashvili, Owner, Publisher, Liberali, Georgia
Christina Maza, Cafe Babel, Georgia
All in all I think the conference went very well. Unfortunately, not all participants networked, but many did, speaking about concrete projects and collaborations. This was particularly the case for a new project, MyAngle, I’m a consultant for.
Connecting media professionals in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, MyAngle is the brainchild of George Gogua, a young photographer from Georgia, and funded by Free Press Unlimited. In my presentation for the ENPI day, I had already set the context for why such a platform was necessary.
It was also good to connect several Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists and hope some potential collaborations take off, but more on that as of when.
Anyway, special thanks must go to CFI’s Sophie Le Bars, Nicholas Sanson, and David Hivet for involving me in the organisation of the conference. In a sense it was a culmination of all the work I’ve been doing in connecting professional and citizen journalists in the region since 2007.
I’d also like to personally thanks Gulya Akhundova who worked very hard to coordinate the participation of Objektiv TV’s Emin Huseynov as well as CivilNet TV who also rebroadcast the LiveStream.
Tweets from the conference can be found at #4mTbilisi while video of the panels will soon be available online.
All photographs © Onnik James Krikorian 2013
