Makhachkala, May 14, 2014. A round table on "Mass Media’s role in forming and developing civil society in Daghestan" was taking place today at the conference hall of Daghestan Public Chamber.

Opening the meeting, the deputy chair of Daghestan Public Chamber Aliusset Azizkhanov said that the Chamber was preparing an annual report on the state of civil society in Daghestan to be later presented at the plenary session in June 2014 with participation of Daghestani officials, Chamber members, and NGO leaders. Since the media are a vital part of the civil society, the report will include the results of a large study conducted as part of preparing for the first congress of Daghestani youth held in 2013.

At the round table, participants expressed their vision of media’s role in forming and developing civil society in Daghestan, of how objective Daghestan and federal media are in covering the events in the republic, of how sought-after the national media are, and how they influence the formation of a civil society. Following the meeting, participants approved a number of recommendations to enhance Daghestan media’s role in forming and developing a civil society.