Word and Work

The 10th International Exhibition “Mass Media in Belarus” that was held in the National Exposition Center BelExpo was marked by several global initiatives that were worth the jubilee forum. One of these events was the first Belarusian information forum “Mass Medias against Challenges and Threats of the 21st Century” organized by the Information Ministry of Belarus jointly with the International Antiterrorist Mediaforum and the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio. The topic of the forum seems urgent as never before, and over a hundred foreign journalists and public figures that applied to take part in the forum is another proof.

There were over 500 applications for participation in the exhibition “Mass Media in Belarus” from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Poland, Israel, China, and the U.S.

This interest and respect are reciprocated, as Belarus provides subscription to over 6,000 foreign periodicals and broadcasts more than 40 foreign television and radio channels. The number of national mass media outlets is on the rise, too: as of the opening day there were 1,350 periodicals and 190 television and radio channels in Belarus.

On the opening day the Information Ministry presented the long-awaited project — the magazine “Journalist”, a corporate edition of the European standard, which is expected to become a “playground” for the best reporters of the country. Besides, the exhibition was just a perfect place to draw the results of the national press contest “Golden Letter”.

The regional media made a real breakthrough over the past 12 months, full-color printing being just one of many achievements, Deputy Information Minister Lilia Ananich said commenting on the unusual number of local media outlets presented at the forum.

The foreign guests were deeply impressed by the exposition making their way through 1,000 square meters of pavilions. The 10th International exhibition “Mass Media in Belarus” was twice as large as last year’s exposition. The Belarusian media should be justly proud of their progress.

by Yelena Mikhailova