Over the past 62 years, the International Press Institute has worked diligently to promote press freedom, dialogue among people and best practices among journalists. To that end, IPI and its Azerbaijan National Committee are delighted to host next week – in partnership with several media organizations and oil and gas industry experts and practitioners – the “IPI Oil, Gas & Media Conference” in Baku, Azerbaijan.

We are excited to welcome more than 160 participants from 27 countries, the vast majority of whom cover the oil and gas industry in their respective country or globally. We are also delighted that so many local journalists will be joining us at the conference. Where – like any conference planner will tell you – at most media-related conferences local journalists, bogged down with their daily duties of producing the news, are not able to attend in vast numbers, about 25 Azerbaijani journalists from state and independent media will be present at the “Oil, Gas & Media Conference.” Our hope is that they will take advantage of the gathering and ask tough questions about transparency in the oil and gas sector and the industry’s plans for the future of Azerbaijan.

Sessions at the conference will include: “Oil and Press Freedom – Rig Over Troubled Waters?”, “Risk and Reward”, “Chasing the Story: What the Government Should Tell You”; “Exploration, Extraction and Safety”, “My Country is Oil Rich, So Why Am I So Poor?”, “Baku. Black Gold Capital” and “The Use of Social Media by Oil Companies in the Public Opinion Fight”.

While we understand that Azerbaijan has many challenges facing it in terms of press freedom issues, IPI, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and a finalist for the Prince of Asturias Prize, believes the greatest way to ensure success is through dialogue. We have held, and continue to hold, conversations with the top leadership of Azerbaijan about the need for an independent media. We have protested assaults on journalists’ – whether physical, verbal or digital. We have lobbied alongside our partners to free journalists from jail and we have been vocal in telling the government when we think they are wrong and then urge them to make it right.

We have been just as vocal with our colleagues, particularly those who choose to ignore media codes of ethics or choose to self-censor, or worse, to take bribes, falsify stories or incite violence.

All of the countries we vetted for this very unique and niche conference, unfortunately, have less than ideal press freedom environments: Russia, Nigeria, Iraq. Media representatives from all of those nations will be in Baku, which has its fair share of free media challenges. All of those nations, with the exception of Nigeria, were rated “not free” by the U.S.-based Freedom House, and the Paris-based Reporters without Borders rated all of them in the bottom third in terms of press freedom. (Nigeria was rated “partially free” in 2011-2012.)

The International Press Institute’s dream for Azerbaijan – as well as Russia, Nigeria, Iraq and the myriad other countries who continue to rank poorly on these listings – is to move swiftly into the “free” column once and for all. We realize that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but where there is political will, there is hope.

For more information on the “IPI Oil, Gas & Media Conference,” go to www.ipioilgasmedia2012.com or visit IPI on Facebook. To follow conference events, find us on Twitter at @ogmazerbaijan