Accolade for Central Asia Reporter

Asyl Osmonalieva, IWPR's long-term contributor in Kyrgyzstan, was a finalist in the Developing Asia Journalism Awards.

Her entry for the contest, run by the Asian Development Bank Institute, was a January 2009 IWPR article on the Kyrgyz government's response to the global financial crisis.

"This is the most prestigious award for journalists in Asia and it's an honour for me to be a finalist."
Asyl Osmonalieva

Entitled Kyrgyzstan’s Controversial "Winter Sale", it looked at accusations that the government was selling strategic assets at knock-down prices as the Central Asian state was being hit hard by multiple economic problems.

Asyl said the high journalistic standards taught by IWPR helped her produce her winning piece.

Along with 21 other finalists from Central, South and East Asia, Asyl travelled to Tokyo in October for a training programme on economic, financial and environmental reporting.

"This is the most prestigious award for journalists in Asia and it's an honour for me to be a finalist," she told IWPR. "According to the organisers, more than 200 entries were submitted this year and the selection criteria were rigorous. Rather than seeking to represent all the countries in the region, they made their judgements on the merits of the articles."

IWPR's Kyrgyzstan and Kazakstan editor Aida Kasymalieva has been a finalist in the Developing Asia competition on three previous occasions - in 2005 and 2006 with reports written for IWPR; and in 2008 with a piece published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Also in September, two IWPR contributors were runners-up in a radio journalism contest held by Internews in Kyrgyzstan - Rita Borbukeeva for her piece Recriminations Fly After Election Protests; and Ulukbu Amirova with Unregistered Marriages Offer Little Protection.