Daily Times

As I paced restlessly at the Turkish Airlines lounge in Istanbul, wondering how I got myself an eight-hour stopover for a two-day trip, I cheered up thinking about what the two days had in store for me. This was my first trip to Central Asia, Astana, Kazakhstan being my destination, where the Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF), now in its 12th year, was holding its annual conference. The conference, held on April 24 and 25, 2014 covered a few very important current issues, which affect the geopolitical dynamics of not only the region, but also those of the entire continent of Asia, looking at the interconnectedness of economic, cultural, religious and political undercurrents of many countries in turmoil, of one kind or the other.
From a hot Pakistan to a plus three cold Astana, the first thing that I noticed was the sparseness of the sparkling capital. The very well-lit but almost completely empty at 3:00 am roads from the airport to the spectacular Rixos President Hotel spoke of a city that lived in the present, worked for its tomorrows and welcomed all challenges. The hotel staff was very gracious, even if many of them spoke or understood little English. Yes, no and thank you, teamed with a big smile works everywhere.
With hardly six hours of sleep the last three nights, I managed to wake up at 8:00 am, sleepwalking to the sumptuous hotel breakfast. Yes, even if I barely eat, I would not give up my crepes, pancakes, waffles first-day breakfast at a cool hotel, the staple diet of my hotel stays anywhere. When I reached the venue of the EAMF, the magnificent Palace of Independence, with the air cold and strong on an otherwise sunny day, I looked forward to a day of very interesting talks by some very dynamic internationally renowned names. The very witty, very popular Riz Khan, formerly of CNN and Al-Jazeera and presently of Bloomberg, acting as the host of the conference, opened the ceremony. The conference was officially inaugurated with a message of welcome from Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, read out by the secretary of state of Kazakhstan, hailing the forum for its “contribution to constructive dialogue during difficult political times”.
The opening speech was by the chair of the EAMF organising committee, the dynamic Dariga Nazarbayeva, who welcomed the guests to the forum and elaborated upon the key points of what the different panels would bring into discussion over the period of the next two days. In her words: “The agenda of the Twelfth EAMF contains topics that are very serious, burning even. This year, we pay more attention to global political changes, and international conflicts. Today our forum is widely perceived as a dialogue of journalists and media makers with different conceptions, but also as an excellent forum for debate…a platform to the competing views of politicians and economists, prominent experts from different fields. We are interested in the point of view of all parties, diametrically opposed ideas and sincere opinions of all kinds, because truth is only born from dispute.”
The keynote address by Newt Gingrich of the US held simple advice for both the US and Russia to avoid confrontation over the very hot issue of Ukraine, stressing the importance of resolving issues without resorting to tactics that failed during the Cold War.
How you image yourself is the perception that you exude and which the world takes as the truth but, unless the image is strengthened by tangible endorsements of what you actually stand for, it takes very little for the image to fade into half-truths. The panel ‘Image is everything’, moderated by Adrian Finighan, television presenter at Al-Jazeera, UK, had a very lively interactive talk with his guests on ‘What is the cost of promoting a country?’ and ‘Who would benefit from the country’s publicity?’ Simon Anholt, policy adviser, the Economist, UK, held his audience captivated, stressing the importance of image being in line with reality — be it an individual, a multinational or a country. Roger Fisk, political campaign, marketing and media strategist from the US summed it up very succinctly in the inimitable words of the ever-relevant Shakespeare: “Truth will out.” Notwithstanding what the projection is, how the brand is built up, how much effort and money goes into branding, at the end of the day a country will come to be known for what its raison d’ètre is, how its rules affect the lives of its population, how its actions affect and shape its internal and foreign policies and how it is regarded internally and externally.
I was on the session, tagged rather glamorously as ‘virtual glamour’, and it was the only talk that steered clear from the heavy-duty topics that sobered and somber-ed the air the last many hours! Of course, virtual is the reality today, and many good and not-so-good issues stem directly from virtual interactions and conflicts. Who can forget the immensely brave but disillusioned Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia, whose story of self-immolation spread like wildfire through the broadbands, going viral on the internet and set into motion the very tumultuous, complex upheavals that came to be known simply as the Arab Spring. On a smaller level, social media empowers, embitters, enlightens, emasculates, emancipates, empathises, eulogises and enunciates much that delineates how individuals think, discourses are formed, debates thicken and narratives shape up. Egos are huge, common sense is scarce, criticism is vitriolic, wholesome discussions as scant as clothes on the Riviera, distortion of truth rampant, and hasty, uninformed judgments as frequent as breaking news on the zillion news channels in Pakistan and India. Tim Santhouse, the global head of video products at Thomson Reuters, UK, was the moderator, who kept the discussion light, on-topic, sharp and witty in that low-key manner the British have mastered over centuries of dead-pan humour that most are too thick to get. My main point was that there is a very thin line between the personal and public on social media and the blurring takes place more than one realises on any tweeting/posting-on-Facebook day. The need for instant gratification permeates much that goes for glamourous lifestyles today, and the validation comes in the form of comments, ‘favourites’ and ‘likes’, thus enmeshing individuals’ personal lives with complete strangers’ social media interaction, overstepping boundaries, blurring the code of ethics and distorting the truth, which threaten to wreck peace of mind, what to say of lives.

(To be continued)

The writer may be contacted at mehrt2000@gmail.com