Promoting Principles of Interreligious and Intra-religious Tolerance through Media in Uzbekistan, launched in September 2023, is a 14-month project to foster positive narratives of interreligious and intra-religious tolerance and coexistence in Uzbekistan.
Context
Despite being a multiethnic and multi-confessional country with a variety of ethnic groups and interreligious tolerance being guaranteed by the constitution, Uzbekistan has maintained a cautious approach to the public discourse on religious matters. This prudent stance stems from a desire to maintain social harmony and safeguard individuals, including those voicing opinions on the legal framework or exercising their fundamental freedoms. It is recognized that the complexity of these topics may inadvertently lead to the escalation of tensions. However, recently, there has been an emerging trend where the government is increasingly open to facilitating discussions on religious diversity. This shift towards encouraging open dialogue reflects a broader societal evolution.
Reflecting on this shift towards a more tolerant environment, it has become clear that there is now a need to provide practical assistance in strengthening media actors to impartially report on religious affairs, especially religious tolerance, and diversity in the country, through a conflict-sensitive manner. Search and In-Service Training Centre for Journalists (TCJ) have developed this project to provide practical support to strengthening the skills of media actors (especially journalists, editors and bloggers)
in developing reporting styles, positive messaging, and neutral media products that promote interreligious and intrareligious tolerance and coexistence, and counteract hate speech among different religious groups. This project targets media stakeholders from six locations, including Namangan, Fergana, Bukhara, Urgench, Andijan, Tashkent, and Nukus.
Theory of Change
IF key media stakeholders across Uzbekistan are capacitated to impartially report on religious issues and develop content that highlights interreligious and intra-religious tolerance and coexistence and IF these actors are able to positively interact with diverse religious leaders and relevant government actors in this process THEN positive narratives of interreligious and intra-religious tolerance and coexistence will be promoted, fostering an enabling environment to support protection of diverse religious communities.
Core Objectives and Activities
Through this project, Search seeks to foster positive narratives of interreligious and intra-religious tolerance and coexistence in Uzbekistan. This will be accomplished through supporting key media stakeholders to leverage their platforms to foster interreligious and intra-religious tolerance and coexistence in a quality and conflict-sensitive manner and fostering trust and information sharing between key media stakeholders, diverse religious leaders, and relevant representatives of key state institutions. Search intends to achieve these objectives by providing project participants with training programs on conflict-sensitive journalism and religious tolerance, producing documentaries on religious tolerance in Uzbekistan, facilitating both private and public dialogue on interethnic, interreligious, and intra-religious engagement, and enhancing cross-country exchange opportunities on issues of religion and interfaith tolerance. Other activities, such as supporting media stakeholders to conduct visits to local communities and assisting them in developing media products on interreligious and intra-religious tolerance and diversity are also key in achieving the objectives.
Search’s Expected Results
1. Key media stakeholders are able to leverage their platforms to foster interreligious and intra-religious tolerance and coexistence in a quality and conflict-sensitive manner.
2. Trust and information sharing are fostered between key media stakeholders, diverse religious leaders, and relevant representatives of key state institutions.
