On December 10, 2024, an international conference titled "Data Journalism for Sustainable Development: Goals, Challenges, and Human Rights in Central Asia" was held in Almaty, marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. The event took place at UN Plaza Almaty with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including the Minister Sayasat Nurbek, who joined online, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the UN Department of Global Communications representatives.
The conference focused on key issues related to the sustainable development of media professions, journalism education, and human rights in Central Asia. The conference moderators included Ermek Chukubaev, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor at the School of Law and Public Administration of Narxoz University, Gulmira Sultanbaeva, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor at the School of Law and Public Administration, and Aizhan Smailova, Associate Professor at the School of Law and Public Administration.
At the plenary session dedicated to the development of national mass media in Central Asia, university representatives from Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan shared their research and experiences in journalism, discussing its role in combating disinformation, protecting human rights, and the use of artificial intelligence.
As part of the event, a course and a publication on data journalism, tailored for universities in Central Asia, were presented. The course was developed by an international team of experts under the leadership of Professor Gulmira Sultanbaeva from the "Political Mass Communications" program at the School of Law and Public Administration.
The conference also featured the presentation of the results of the "MediaVision-2024" roadmap for the development of sectoral journalism, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, and the "Scientific Journalism Initiative: 2025-2027," developed jointly with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan.
The conference also featured the presentation of the results of the "MediaVision-2024" roadmap for the development of sectoral journalism, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, and the "Scientific Journalism Initiative: 2025-2027," developed jointly with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan.
The conference provided a unique opportunity for knowledge and experience exchange among experts from Central Asian countries and contributed to strengthening cooperation at the intersection of human rights, journalism, and sustainable development.