“Radio is available everywhere in Kazakhstan… it is so even today in the age of new media,” said the Deputy Director of Kazmedia Yerlik Karazha, opening today’s session of Radio Asia in Astana.
Astana is Kazakhstan’s new capital and just celebrated its twentieth anniversary last week.
Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world by size, with just 18 million population, explained Karazha.
“That means that when we talk about radio we have a lot of content that crosses our borders from Russia, Uzbekistan, China and Kurgistan. There are many possibilities to listen to lots of radio, not just our own country’s radio services…
“There are 137 ethnic groups living in this country. Kazakh is the state language and the official langauge is Russian, but we also broadcast in many other languages on our networks…
“We are looking to the world around us. If you want to survive you have to adapt and invest in new projects as well as doing what you have always done, that is what we are doing.”
Some of the new projects that Radio Kazakhstan has added to its traditional range of programming offerings include two radio stations: Business FM, a station about business and Tamashan FM, a station for humour and cultural activities.
It is also the 7th year of Classic FM, which has become a very popular channel in Kazakhstan since its introduction this decade.
Interviewed by AsiaRadioToday after his presentation, Yerlik explained in more details the historical background of media in Soviet times and how it has now changed since Kazakhstan’s independence.
Welcoming delegates to the conference, ABU Secretary General Javad Mottaghi outlined the huge scale of the Asia Pacific region covered by the ABU, saying:
“There are many languages spoken, many sizes of nation and many systems of government… we serve the most complex and marvellous audiences one could imagine…
“That is why this year’s theme ‘Unity and Diversity’ is so important. It goes to the heart of who we are, standing side by side, acknowledging differences but united by what we have in common. This is what makes our region special and makes a conference such as this very worthwhile.
“We try to focus on commonalities, understand our differences, and change the challenges to opportunities.”