About fond
We are living in a swiftly changing and dynamic period and independent media have an opportunity to change our life for the better. Therefore the Fund for Supporting and Developing Independent Print Media and News Agencies of Uzbekistan (PFSDIPMNA) renders financial support to those independent print media units that in deed want to become economically independent, strong and competitive. A special role in the formation of democratic civil society is given to independent print media that are not dependant on anyone, do not lobby for departmental or corporative interests but are always in the thick of things and have their own point of view on the de-velopments.The Fund carries out its activities in accordance with its Program of Action including such priority directions as giving grants, training forums and seminars, business projects program, supporting publicly important projects, partnership relations development program, supporting beginner journalists, program of bonuses, encouragement and support, contests program, etc.
Within the framework of grants program for strengthening material and technical basis of print media units as well as for increasing their part in the coverage of society democratization and modernization processes and for the formation of civil stand, the Fund has given over 100 domestic print media units and Internet publications grants for realization of over 40 projects. These grants helped the editors obtain necessary technical devices and office equipment (computers, printers, scanners, digital photo cameras, dictaphones, etc.) and create about 100 electronic Internet versions of publications.
Also within the framework of the program the following actions were carried out with the Fund support:
to improve professional skills of journalists, develop the print media activities in accordance with modern International standards a methods book has been prepared and published for print media and Internet publications editors and a methods book in print media business fundamentals;
to develop practical skill of students and promote their professional work in the future a training newspaper for students of journalism department of the Uzbek State University of World Languages has been founded;
to actively attract the young people to the process of social and political reporting in regions, to attract gifted youth to journalist activities, to timely and qualitatively cover the life of young people in regions press centres of regional "Kelajak ovozi" Youth Initiatives Centres have been formed;
to raise professional level of journalists working for print media units and news agencies, to help other personnel of these units including designers, imposers, photographers and web-masters learn and implement advanced foreign experience a master-class has been organized at Infocom.Uz. editorial office;
for an improvement of journalists' skill, all-round exchange of experience, increasing knowledge and skill a project "For improving professional skill of young journalists of regional print media units" has been realized at editorial offices of leading media structures, etc.
Within the framework of a Business Projects Program stipulating for activities to strengthen material and technical basis and the staff of specialists, to provide for self-repayment of the print media and strengthen their financial stability, a financial aid project to support 15 leading regional newspapers has been realized that helped not only improve economic and material and technical state of the publications but also encourage their journalists materially. Practice shows that theoretical teaching of fundamentals of journalism cannot cover the whole range of special directions on which the work of print media editors is built, therefore it became necessary to start special courses aimed at practical training directly at editorial offices, improving knowledge and practical skill necessary to work in a concrete direction.
Within the framework of Program of training forums and seminars the Fund formed Journalist skill centres under leading regional newspapers in the towns of Andijan, Samarkand, Karshi and Nukus to help the regional editors overcome a shortage of specialists and in part improve professional level of journalists and train young specialists. About 200 listeners attended these trainings in regional centres during 2007-2008 and got certificates.
To train, improve the knowledge and practical skill of students of journalism departments five master-classes were organized under leading publications with 120 students attending.
A new direction of journalist activities - Internet-journalism is actively developing at present. A great attention is paid in Uzbekistan to this sphere and to filling the Internet space with efficient, high-quality and verified materials, to the development of work of websites of the district, city and regional newspapers, to the organization of an efficient exchange of high-quality information among regions, to informing broad foreign public about truthful social and political and socio-economic life of Uzbekistan. To develop national Internet journalism the Fund promoted the formation of "Region Inform" information service with a network of regional offices of newspaper correspondents. Also, there is a project under realization to create an Internet-based local system of timely and high-quality exchange of information that will give over 160 district, city and regional newspapers an access to republican and International information resources.
Under the Partnership Relations Development Program the Fund has initiated active interaction between the print media and news agency journalists and representatives of corresponding state and public organizations and civil society institutions.
To successfully realize the tasks required by the Rules, the Fund signed memorandums of cooperation with the National Association of Non-Governmental Non-Commercial Organizations, International In-Service Journalists Training Centre, Creative Journalists' Union of Uzbekistan, Civil Society Studies Institute, Kamolot Public Youth Movement, The Republican Mahalla Fund, journalism departments and other organizations concerned.
