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Kazakhstan Uncensored

24.06.2024

Implementing organisation(s):

Lead applicant: Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR);

Co-applicant: Wings of Liberty.

Duration: January 3, 2023 – January 2, 2025

Project budget: 

Total budget in € 250,000

EU contribution in € 237,500

Location: Kazakhstan

Contract number:

NDICI HR INTPA/2022/440-371 PC- 23274

 

Project Description

Goal: promoting and protecting fundamental freedom of expression in Kazakhstan.

Objectives:

  1. Strengthen the capacities of independent media and local CSOs to collaboratively and safely promote government accountability.
  2. Increase public understanding and engagement in debate around freedom of expression and digital rights.

Main target groups:

  1. Independent journalists, bloggers, and other media workers;
  2. Civil Society Organisations, including activists, Human Rights Defenders and representatives from a breadth of local CSOs.

Expected results:

  1. Kazakhstan Uncensored will result in increased capacity and resilience of media and CSO professionals, through empowering them with the knowledge and skills in digital rights, FoE and digital security;
  2. These actors will then take a leading role in cascading learnings to the wider public through a coordinated set of events, campaigns and media and analytical products;
  3. In turn, Kazakh citizens reached through project content and campaigns will have a greater understanding of their rights and access to information which supports greater resilience amongst vulnerable populations.

Achievements to date:

  • “Study on Digital Rights: Access to Information and Freedom of Expression in Kazakhstan” completed and distributed in 3 languages (Kazakh, Russian, English).
  • 3 Public engagement events were conducted: Press-Lunch on March 27, 2023, to mark the launch of the project and to discuss research; Workshop on April 14, 2023, to discuss the current situation of FoE and digital rights in Kazakhstan, as well as to develop a way forward for further collaboration; Roundtable on July 18, 2023, to present preliminary research results. All events were successful, produced recommendations for conducting the research, and provided topics for trainings.
  • Series of training on human rights, physical and cyber security, and self-censorship were conducted: online training on October 4-5, 2023, and offline trainings in Almaty on November 8-9, 2023, and in Astana on November 17-18, 2023.
  • 7 joint plans for information campaigns were developed by participants of the workshop held on March 14-15, 2024, 4 of which were selected for technical and financial support;
  • Since the beginning of the project, 17 articles on the topic of FoE and digital rights have been published on CABAR.asia and will continue once a month.