Astana hosts second season of Al Jazeera Week educational project

The opening ceremony was attended by Yerkezhan Kuntugan, Deputy Director of the Kazakh President’s TV and Radio Complex; Eman Al Amri, Director of the Al Jazeera Media Institute; Talgat Narikbayev, Chairman of the MNU Board; as well as students, lecturers and invited guests.

During the new season, specialists from Al Jazeera Media Network will discuss key challenges facing modern journalism, the international news agenda, digital media and the role of the younger generation in shaping a responsible, substantive and competitive information environment.

The international educational project serves as a platform for exchanging professional experience between Kazakhstan’s media community and Al Jazeera Media Network.

The program will run from September 28 through October 2 and includes seven educational courses covering data journalism, digital storytelling, investigative and mobile journalism, fact-checking and verification, modern documentary filmmaking and interview techniques.

More than 130 undergraduate students and 100 media professionals, along with master’s and doctoral students and university faculty members, are taking part in the program.

Following the training, which combines theoretical and practical sessions, students will prepare and defend course projects in each area of study. Participants will also receive certificates from the Al Jazeera Media Institute.

The International School of Journalism, established in 2023, is a joint project of the Kazakh President’s TV and Radio Complex and Maqsut Narikbayev University. The initiative aims to support and develop talented young people and create a pool of future journalists equipped to meet the evolving communication needs of society and the state.

The TV and Radio Complex under the Kazakh President is the largest vertically integrated media company covering the full cycle of media content production and distribution. Its portfolio includes the Jibek Joly television channel and radio station, the international channels Silk Way, Silk Way Cinema and Silk Way Prime, the international news agency Qazinform, the Documentary Film Center and the digital media division TRKLAB.

Al Jazeera was established in 1996 by decree of the Emir of Qatar. The network broadcasts in Arabic and English across much of the world and operates more than 50 international bureaus. Its documentary programming is broadcast on Al Jazeera Documentary.

Earlier, Qazinform reported the Kazakh President’s TV and Radio Complex, Al Jazeera marked three years of strategic cooperation.