Kazakh Service Website Wins Top Honors

(ALMATY, Kazakhstan)  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Kazakh Service, Radio Azattyq, has won two prestigious awards for its web-based news service.  The honors were handed out by AWARD.kz, an independent association of journalists and IT professionals from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.

Radio Azattyq was named the winner in two categories: 'Best Mass Media Website' and 'Best Kazakh Language Website.'

“Being recognized for these honors is a tribute to our hard-working journalists who use all available technologies to bring uncensored news and information to the Kazakh people,” says RFE/RL Kazakh Service Director Yedige Magauin. “Perhaps more important than the awards themselves is the message about the benefits of open and transparent competition this sends to the citizens of Kazakhstan.”

Recipients of the awards were selected by a jury of 30 members based on design, content, and functionality of the nominated websites. This year's jury was chaired by Russian Internet entrepreneur, Albert Popkov, founder of a website with more than 25 million users that is commonly referred to as “Russia’s Facebook.”

About RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Radio Azattyq, was established in 1953 as part of the Radio Liberty family, and has redoubled its efforts since independence in providing dependable information through intensive on-the-ground reporting. Restrictions on the Kazakh media market and limited airtime have imposed a heavy burden that Radio Azattyq has sought to counter with dynamic programming and increased cooperation - online and on the air - with local and regional media.