OSCE seminar in Turkmenistan addresses effective communication in the digital age

The use of new technologies in interaction between state institutions and media was in focus of an OSCE-organized training seminar that took place on 27 and 28 May 2025 in Ashgabat.

The training seminar targeted officials of Turkmenistan’s key state institutions who are in charge of communications work and websites of their institutions as well as journalists representing print, broadcast and online media.

The training seminar familiarized participants with best communications practices of state institutions and aimed to contribute to enhancing their contacts with media though the use of new technologies.

Guido Keel, Senior Advisor to the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and Živilė Navickaitė-Babkin, strategic communication expert from Lithuania delivered the seminar focusing on core principles of effective communication and modern instruments used by state institutions in interaction with the media.

“The OSCE commitments on freedom of information and access to information are enshrined in a number of the Organization’s key document, including the Helsinki Final Act, the fiftieth anniversary of which we celebrate this year,” said John MacGregor, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

“These documents commit governments to be more transparent by providing timely and reliable information and facilitate a well-informed and responsive dialogue,” emphasized MacGregor.

The seminar participants learnt about a corporate newsroom, its traditional organization, structure and functions, and talked about the essential role of strategic thinking in communications. The experts shared most common mistakes in interaction with the media and provided recommendations for creating user-friendly content. The event also discussed opportunities and limits of multimodal communication and how artificial intelligence changes communications.

“Our seminar highlights the importance of providing accurate reliable information to our citizens, especially in this age of digital technologies and   artificial    intelligence,” added MacGregor.