MINSK, 23 May (BelTA) - The 14th Belarusian International Media Forum “Partnership for the Future: Journalism and Social Security” opened in Brest on 23 May, BelTA has learned.
“The Belarusian International Media Forum is a big event in the social and political life of the country. One of its objectives is to develop positive attitudes to Belarus, to highlight the openness and transparency of the country's foreign policy which is based on the principles of good-neighborliness, mutual understanding and peace,” Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Zhevnyak said.
For the first time the forum is held in a regional city. “Brest hosting the event is not accidental. Firstly, this year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Belarus' liberation from German-fascist invaders. Secondly, Brest was the first to welcome the Flame of Peace torch relay of the 2nd European Games. Thirdly, the city is celebrating its millennium birthday this year. This is an opportunity to show the guests (many are here for the first time ) the regions of our country,” Belarus Information Minister Aleksandr Karlyukevich said. “The program is packed. After the plenary session the forum will run breakout sections and panel discussions and will focus on such themes as social media, the internet, blogosphere, the social responsibility of journalists, the ways to make the world a better place, the importance of our profession,” he added.
The two-day event has brought together over 250 representatives from 25 countries, including state officials and public figures, diplomats, representatives of expert and media communities, journalists. The forum will highlight such issue as media space and information security, the impact of social media and blogosphere on the public opinion, modern internet journalism and its role in solving social and political problems of regions. The Summer School of Journalism will deal with the topic “Modern Journalism and Social Media” and will take place in Brest State University. Leading Belarusian and Russian journalists will give master classes on modern information technologies. The agenda of the second day also includes the roundtable “Belarus-Russia Union State: 20 years in Media Space. Results and Prospects”.
Participants and guests of the forum will have an opportunity to learn more about Brest, to see its sights. “We have been working to make the city more attractive in many ways. Investments have reached hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars. We want to position Brest as a modern city which embodies the overall development of Belarus,” Brest mayor Aleksandr Rogachuk said.
The international media forum has been organized by Belarus' Information Ministry, the Standing Committee of the Union State of Belarus and Russia with support of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee, the CIS Interstate Foundation for Humanitarian Cooperation, Belarus' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the CIS Executive Committee, the Belarusian Union of Journalists.
Photos by Leonid Shcheglov, Vadim Yakubenok
