Minsk, July 12, AZERTAC

The 19th World Congress of Russian Press has kicked off in Minsk, Belarus. Director General of Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), President of the News Agencies World Congress (NAWC) and the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) Aslan Aslanov represents Azerbaijan at the Congress.

Held under the motto “Partnership for the Future: Priorities of Modern Civilization”, the Congress brings together representatives and heads of media from 52 countries.

Addressing the event, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko highlighted the impact of politicians and journalists on society.

“Of course, those vested with the authority to make decisions in the name of and for the benefit of people are fully integrated in the information flows. Words have an immense influence on us, country leaders. In this context, the responsibility of both politicians and journalists for the public word has grown considerably. It is obvious that today not everything depends on politicians, heads of state. Mass media do not just cover events. Mass media have always been called the fourth power. However, considering the influence they have on the society, we can talk about a more significant role today,” the Belarusian leader stressed. “This is why professionalism and civic responsibility of members of the media are of immense importance. Of course, the readers want sensations. Newspapers, TV channels, internet publications, especially today, survive to a great extent thanks to scandals frequently produced by themselves. Meanwhile, such an approach can eventually cost them a lot,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message was read out at the Congress. In his message, the Russian President head of state said these traditional meetings are one of the major events in Russian-speaking media space. President Putin brought up media’s potential for enlightenment, solidarity, education. “Of course, you have a good understanding of the enormous educational and consolidating potential of the media, their special responsibility for fair and impartial coverage of the events around the planet.” .

President of the World Association of Russian Press, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Vitaly Ignatenko said the Congress is held in Belarus for the second time. “This is indicative of great attention the country pays to Russian language,” said Vitaly Ignatenko.

Along with the 19th World Congress of Russian Press the traditional International Media Forum is also held in Minsk. The Congress continues with panel sessions on “Challenges and Opportunities: Sovereignty, Integration, Globalization” and “Media in Digital Age”.

The 19th World Congress of Russian Press is organized by the World Association of Russian Press, the Belarusian Information Ministry, and the World Russian Press Foundation.

The World Association of Russian Press was established on 24 June 1999. It is an open international non-governmental association of print and digital media, news agencies, publishing houses, television channels, and radio programs. According to the WARP Council, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, radio and television broadcasts in Russian are now available in over 70 countries across the globe. A significant number of them are represented in WARP or cooperate with the association.