The Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his Address "New Kazakhstan: the path of renewal and modernization" set tasks to increase the competitiveness of the media and strengthen the role of civil society institutions. During the meeting of the Government chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, the Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Umarov reported on the main directions for the implementation of these instructions.

As the minister said, the Head of State noted the need to pay special attention to the creation of an open information space and competitive domestic media.

“Today, the ministry faces a number of tasks to strengthen the role, status and responsibility of the media,” Umarov said.

In this regard, according to him, the work of the ministry, first of all, will be aimed at solving the following tasks.

First, the new media law will be reviewed, taking into account the demands of society and the interests of the state.

“It is important to note that this process will be carried out on the basis of a broad public and expert discussion. Thus, all topical issues that arouse the interest of the journalistic community in the current legislation will be taken into account,” Umarov reported.

Second, as the minister noted, an open competitive environment will be developed for the media, which will act as the “fourth power”, exercising civilian control.

Third, new approaches to public information work will be developed.

The Head of State also noted the role of the non-governmental sector in solving important social issues and the need for a systemic reboot of civil society institutions. In this regard, the ministry plans to continue work on improving activities and updating the composition of public councils. Currently, 102 public councils have been formed, 111 are at the stage of formation.

According to the minister, when forming the updated compositions, the maximum involvement of representatives of active NGOs, parties and civil activists will be recommended.

“This year, for the first time, a national report on the activities of public councils in the Republic of Kazakhstan will be prepared. The report will analyze the effectiveness of the work of public councils and the prospects for the development of further activities,” Umarov reported.

Along with this, according to him, firstly, the approach of planning NGO projects through the system of state social order will be revised.

“Currently, a relevant draft law is in the Parliament, which will significantly improve the quality and transparency of state support for NGOs,” Umarov said.

Second, according to him, in order to involve active citizens in the process of solving urgent problems and issues of the country's development, mechanisms for involving NGOs in the process of making government decisions at all its stages will be improved together with interested state bodies.

Third, within the walls of the Parliament, the draft Law “On Public Control” is being discussed, which will create qualitatively new principles of interaction between citizens and the state.