Television magazine "Open Asia"

In March 1999 Internews Kazakhstan started working on the project “Open Asia”, which also involved offices of Internews in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

In April 1999, the TV magazine “Open Asia” aired on independent TV channels of countries of Central Asian region for the first time.

The goal of the project, which involves journalists of non-government stations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, is to fill informational vacuum as much as possible, which occurred in the region after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. "Open Asia" researches common phenomena and differences in economy, history, culture of the neighboring countries, tells about successes and failures on the way of each country to civilized market.

The program was created not as much for coverage of sensational news, but more for feature stories and documentaries (with elements of analysis and journalist investigation). TV stations of countries, which are participating in the project, are preparing stories for “Open Asia”. Potential story for the TV magazine will be evaluated according to at least three criteria: interest, impact and importance. Thus, “Open Asia” is a kind of TV production school, where representatives of private stations of Central Asia are able to obtain new experience and demonstrate their abilities.

Since 2001 the program has aired weekly. Around 40 television stations in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan broadcast “Open Asia”, and the number of these stations constantly increases.