About
us
The first ever Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) was held in Almaty in 2002 with the aim of creating open dialogue and supporting the development of the media - a mission that remains unchanged to this day.
During the inaugural Forum, delegates received welcoming addresses from the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, former President of Iran Mohammad Khatami, writer Chingiz Aitmatov, and International Federation of Journalists General Secretary Aidan White. The notable lineup set the very high standard of speakers that the Forum has come to be associated with year after year.
Today, the Forum includes panel discussions on the most relevant issues of the day, workshops run by well-known specialists, and roundtable discussions during which participants share their opinions on professional and regional questions.
EAMF’s long list of distinguished previous speakers include: former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai; American diplomats Richard Holbrook and Richard Perle; former Congressman and Chairman of the House Select Committee Harold Ford; British politician and former Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary of the UK Jack Straw; futurist Ray Hammond; White House Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to the President of the USA (2017) Steve Bannon; former President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves; journalists Vladimir Pozner, Maxim Shevchenko, Mikhail Leontyev, Sofiko Shevardanze, Peter Lavelle, Paula Slier, Stephen Cole and Nick Gowing; managers of Russian News Agency TASS Vitaly Ignatenko and Mikhail Gusman; retired US Army general Wesley Clark; Russian politician and former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Primakov; former Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolay Bordyuzha; former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir; Emmy-winning former Head of Foreign News at Vice News Tonight Noreen Jameel; senior election strategist for Barack Obama, Roger Fisk; Emmy- and Peabody-winning BBC News’s News Editor Gavin Hewitt; Oscar-nominated producer and director Evgeny Afineevsky, and many more.
THE PURPOSE OF THE FORUM REMAINS CONSTANT OVER THE YEARS: IT IS CREATING AN OPEN DIALOGUE AND SUPPORTING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE EURASIAN MEDIA.