Mass media can change the world for the better, says Almaty mayor
"The history of this forum began 16 years ago, back in 2002, in the southern capital of Kazakhstan [Almaty] with the support of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nowadays it has become a recognized dialogue platform, a bridge between East and West where its participants focus on the most challenging global problems. It is a huge honor to welcome this jubilee forum in Almaty. Its agenda features the most pressing issues of global development which will be discussed by well-known journalists, politicians and social figures," mayor Baibek said in his opening remarks.
In his remarks Baibek reminded of the recent Astana Economic Forum where Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev named five mega trends of modern global development, namely digitalization of all aspects of life, energy revolution, rapid growth of the world population, changes in pace and character of urbanization as well as global labor market.
"We see that those global trends have become the factors behind global uncertainty, atmosphere of mutual distrust and phobias. The geopolitical and civilizational standoff is growing right in front of our eyes. Force, pressure and threats have sadly become the tools of modern global politics. Global mass media often become an instrument in regional conflicts and global wars. Unbiased and reliable information have been replaced with fake news. Presently mass media can manipulate public opinion, change overall values and affect people's identity," the Almaty mayor noted.
Baibek believes that the world can develop further only through dialogue and cooperation, trust and responsibility.
"In these conditions, mass media shoulder great responsibility. Mass media are capable of consolidating the global community around the most pressing issues, promoting the culture of dialogue and cooperation and change the world for the better," he said in conclusion.