Over 150 journalists, representatives of media outlets, national media regulators and press councils, as well as academics, politicians, and civil society activists will gather at the Solidarność Centre in Gdansk for a major European event. The conference “Free European Media” is organised on the 15-16 February 2018 by the European Federation of Journalists in cooperation with the Council of Europe, the Nordic Journalism Centre, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom and the International Press Institute with the support of Polish authorities and journalists associations. Participants will examine the current status of the press freedom from several critical angles: keeping new media and independent journalism away from state control; pluralism as a factor that enables and sustains democracy; how legislation violates media freedom; and the significant role of ethical standards and self-censorship.
Patrick Penninckx, the Head of the Information Society Department will address the audience with a message of support for the freedom of expression, specifying the growing concerns and communicating the new initiatives and tools promoted by the Council of Europe.
The conference will further examine how media are affected in targeted areas in Europe, through the outcomes of the Media Pluralism Monitor and results of the Study on self-censorship. A particular attention will be given to the media situation in countries where democracy is in decline or threatened, as underscored by the alerts on the Platform for the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and as a follow-up to the Report on press freedom and media pluralism carried out by the High-Level Group delivered to the EU Commission.
Organisers intend to follow up the conference debates with a sustainable long-term agenda, starting with the launch of a debate book on conflicts between media and politics from various corners of Europe, authored by journalists from selected countries.
Presentation of Parick Penninckx, Head of the Information Society Department, Council of Europe
Interview with Patrick Penninckx, Head of the Information Society Department, Council of Europe
Embedded photos © Shutterstock / PolandMFA Europejskie Centrum Solidarności / European Solidarity Centre, Poland / 2018 Free European Media
Music © Scott Holmes