Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 11 May (BelTA) – The mass media of Belarus have made great headway over the past 20 years, Belarus Information Minister Lilia Ananich told media at the opening ceremony of the 20^th international expo Mass Media in Belarus on 11 May, BelTA has learned.

“When we held the first exhibition, there were a bit more than 800 periodicals in the country. There were not so many TV channels. Today we have over 1,500 publications,” said the minister. She also took note of the rapidly developing Internet technologies.

The 20^th international expo Mass Media in Belarus is underway in Minsk on 11-14 May. Partaking in the event will be representatives of state-owned TV channels, news agencies, leading state newspapers and magazines, regional media, children’s educational magazines, literary and arts magazines, radio companies, diplomatic missions in Belarus, media companies of Russia, the Belarus-Russia Union State, the CIS member states, China, Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries, and also non-state media.

The expo which is to last through 14 May will aim to present the history of the mass media in Belarus, from the oldest media products to state-of-the-art communication technologies. The expo will provide a platform to discuss the current state and development prospects of the Belarusian information environment as well as plans for the future. The program of the expo includes roundtable sessions, seminars and workshops to be attended by leading journalists and media experts of Belarus and Russia. The awards ceremony of the national print media competition Zolotaya Litera (Golden Letter) will be held on the first day of the forum.

The 11^th Belarusian international media forum Partnership for the Future will be held on 11-14 May as well. Among those invited to partake in the media forum are heads of mass media outlets, outstanding political analysts, experts from the CIS and non-CIS countries. The guests of the forum will take part in the events of the expo Mass Media in Belarus.

The 20th international expo Mass Media in Belarus is organized by the Information Ministry and the national exhibition center BelExpo with the support of Minsk City Hall, the National State TV and Radio Company, the Union of Publishers and Distributors of Press, the House of Press, and the Belarusian Union of Journalists.