The 21st World Congress of the Russian Press is being held in Turkey. The event opened in the Turkish capital Ankara and will end on October 27 in Alanya. The congress is organized by the World Association of Russian Press (WARP) with the assistance of the TASS news agency in Russia.
At the same time, currently the congress is being held with the active participation of the World Council of Turkish Journalists and the Association of Russian Culture and Education of Alanya.
The congress is attended by publishers and editors-in-chief, representing about four hundred Russian-language foreign media from more than fifty countries of the world. Among them is South Ossetia, which is represented by the chief editor of the South Ossetia MIA Zalina Tskhovrebova.
Main directions
The Forum focuses on professional issues of the media, the role of the Russian press in the life of the diasporas, the problems of maintaining a cultural multinational community and linguistic identity.
As reported to IA “Res” by Zalina Tskhovrebova, the agenda also includes traditional topics: coverage of events in Russia and abroad; realization of the right of compatriots abroad to access information and communicate in Russian; expansion of educational, cultural, informational, creative and professional exchanges.
It should be reminded that today the World Association of Russian Press (WARP) is the only worldwide association of print and electronic media published abroad in Russian. It was created at the First World Congress of Russian Press in 1999 on the initiative of TASS and a number of the oldest and most respected foreign media.
The World Congress of Russian Press has become a significant support for the Russian language and culture abroad. The WARP congresses allow to identify problems and prospects for the development of the Russian press abroad, to determine its place and role in the dialogue of cultures in the modern world. Prominent government, public and political figures of Russia, the CIS countries and foreign countries, chief editors, publishers and leading journalists of Russian foreign countries, as well as heads of national Russian media traditionally take part in the WARP forums.
The world congresses of the Russian press are held alternately in one of the countries represented in the WARP.
Resisting challenges
According to the chief editor of MIA South Ossetia, the congress was opened by Vitaly Ignatenko, president of the WARP, who also read out the welcoming address of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The head of the Russian state believes that the activities of the Russian-language media in the world are of great importance to counter the challenges of today. In addition, the welcome message said that using the powerful consolidating and enlightening potential of the media, they oppose the spread of propaganda myths and the imposition of false, stereotypical images of Russia,” said Tskhovrebova.
President of Russia has also emphasized that participants in the congress help strengthening the position of the Russian language as a means of interethnic communication, and also allow compatriots abroad to maintain close ties with Russia.
Personal communication
Zalina Tskhovrebova has noted that participation in such events allows, above all, to communicate with colleagues.
“We live in the same information space, and this congress is a confirmation of this., From year to year there are new members, I have friends since 2009. During this time, we have established not only creative tandems, but also friendly relations. And this is also very important, because, all these people knowing that there are Russian-language media in South Ossetia, get acquainted with the country itself. I tell them about the Republic of South Ossetia, about traditions, culture, etc.,” the editor-in-chief noted.
Communication with colleagues shows new ways for the development of the media, new directions. “Of course, we learn about what is happening in the world from the Internet and other communicative means, but so far, the human factor has not been canceled. There is nothing more important than direct personal communication with colleagues when they show and tell you how they live, about modern trends, about the ways of survival of Russian-language newspapers, you just learn about the life of Russian-speaking people abroad, "Tskhovrebova clarified.
Representatives of the Turkish authorities, as well as heads of the information agencies, spoke at the congress.
