Elvira Kadyrova
On 24 December 2025, a coordination meeting of national media literacy trainers took place at the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, dedicated to an interim evaluation of the trainer preparation project. The event served as a platform for discussing achievements, sharing experiences, and planning future steps in the development of information literacy in Turkmenistan.
The meeting was opened by Svetlana Ostroushenko, National Public Information Officer at the OSCE Centre. Joining her online were Kazakhstani consultant experts Duman Smakov and Adil Jalilov, who shared the results of a survey among trainers, which served as a metric for the success and effectiveness of the conducted trainings.
From July to December 2025, national trainers have already managed to organize four full-fledged seminars. Participants included representatives from various groups: journalists, students, government agency employees, and bloggers. During these sessions, key aspects of international and national legal regulation in the field of media and information literacy were examined. Special attention was given to practical tools for fact-checking and working with artificial intelligence. In total, nine trainers are involved in the project, and another ten are ready to conduct independent trainings in the near future.
According to the survey results among trainers, high usefulness was noted for topics such as mobile journalism, AI applications, development of public speaking skills, and fact-checking. Among the most effective methods for teaching media literacy, trainers highlighted presentations with comments, group discussions, small group work, and interactive games.
It should be noted that national trainers, by the nature of their professional activities, also possess their own expertise that naturally intersects with the concept of media literacy. After all, among them are journalists, lawyers, and representatives of the higher education system.
The trainers shared their accumulated experience as mentors. They emphasized the noticeable interest of the audience in media literacy topics, as well as the importance of thorough preparation for classes. Trainers feel a sense of responsibility toward their listeners, and this motivates them to approach each training with maximum seriousness.
And perhaps the most exciting part of the conversation was the prospects for the project’s development. In response to the trainers’ wishes, Svetlana Ostroushenko revealed plans for 2026.
In particular, the development of a standard training module on media literacy is envisaged, which national specialists will be able to adapt to the specifics of the audience in Turkmenistan. In addition, next year, trainers will conduct seminars in two provinces, expanding the program’s coverage.
The event concluded on a festive note: on behalf of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, participants were presented with New Year’s gifts, symbolizing the successful completion of the year and hopes for fruitful partnership in the future. ///nCa, 25 December 2025