Outreach Coordinator Meets With Kyrgyzstan Delegation

On Tuesday March 8 2011, delegates from the Kyrgyzstan news media came to the CAIR-Chicago office to meet with the Communications, Outreach, and Research departments. The delegation was here to understand and develop editorial policies in independent print and online media. CAIR-Chicago and the delegates engaged in a round table discussions on many different topics regarding news media. The meeting was designed to reflect the professional interests and experience of the delegates.

Topics that arose included editorial independence in political corruption reporting, and legal support for journalistic investigations.

Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson talked to the delegates about the significance and societal impact of investigative journalism and guidelines to organizing journalistic investigations.

“CAIR-Chicago was fortunate to host the delegation from Kyrgyzstan for the third time. We whole-heartedly stand by its leaders to ensure fairness in quality of life as the country improves its stance on civil rights,” commented Hankerson.

The delegates met under The Open World Program, an initiative of the United States Congress that builds understanding between leaders of emerging countries and its U.S. counterparts. The delegates come to learn new ideas in the U.S. and adapt the knowledge for their own work back home.

WorldChicago, the sponsor of the delegation, is a non-profit organization that works with the U.S. State Department and U.S. embassies as a liaison. WorldChicago serves as an intermediary between 800 international visitors and their Chicago-area counterparts each year.