"Freedom of Expression and democracy in the digital age: opportunities, rights, responsibilities" 7-8 November 2013, Belgrade
From left to right: R.MacDonald, Access Now; M.Rotert, EuroISPA; Ph.Boillat, Council of Europe Director general of Human Rights and Rule of Law; Ivan Tasovac, Minister of Culture and Information of Serbia; G.Predic, State Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Information of Serbia; A.Mellakauls, Chairman of the Council of Europe CDMSI; Maja Rakovic, 1st counsellor, Serbian Embassy in France, A.Reijnders, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands
Opening sessions
- Address by Mr Ivica DAČIĆ, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia
- Address by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
- Address by Mr Hrair TOVMASYAN, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
- Address by Ms Nataliya ROMANOVA, President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
- Address by Ambassador Michael DAVENPORT, on behalf of the European Union
Ministerial session 1 - Access to Internet and fundamental rights
Ministerial session 2 How do we address the current threats to journalism?
Ministerial session 3 - Pluralism, diversity and quality in the new media ecosystem - opportunities and risks
Ministerial session 4 - Hate speech on line
Council of Europe Conference on "The hate factor in political speech – Where do responsibilities lie?" Warsaw, 18-19 September 2013Why do we organise the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and Information Society ?
In pursuing its statutory aim to achieve greater unity between its member states, notably in respect of freedom of expression and information and its corollary media freedom online and offline, the Council of Europe is constantly facing new challenges. Information and communication technologies are developing rapidly and the impact on our societies is considerable. New challenges to human rights and democracy continue to emerge by the day in the information society.
Sub-theme 1: Access to the Internet and fundamental rights
Sub-theme 2: How do we address the current threats to journalism?
- How to address current threats to journalism?: The role of the Council of Europe in protecting journalists and other media actors - by Dr Tarlach McGonagle
- The activities of organisations in Europe working for the protection and safety of journalists and to combat impunity - by William Horsley
- The principles which can be drawn from the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights relating to the protection and safety of journalists and journalism - by Philip Leach
Sub-theme 3: Pluralism, diversity and quality in the new media ecosystem – opportunities and risks
- Converged Media: same content, different laws? - Foreword - An IRIS-Plus issue, by the European Audiovisual Observatory. The full document will be made available at the conference.
- Access to information in a converged media environment - by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
The Committee on Culture and Information of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, jointly with the Sub-Committee on Media and Information Society of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe organised a meeting on November 6th in Belgrade. The meting took place in the Serbian National Assembly.
Two sessions were on the programme: Session 1 on Protection of media freedom in Europe and Session 2 on Priorities for audiovisual media policy in Europe.
The documents below are some contributions received and/or drafted in view of the preparation of the Conference. The opinions expressed are the responsibility of their authors and do not reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.
- Freedom of expression and democracy in the digital age - a paper by the Secretariat.
- Discussion paper on possible modifications of the "public watchdog" term in the new media environment (by Matthias Traimer)
- Access to the Internet - a human right? (by Andris Mellakauls)
- Proposed issues for Ministerial Conference, Belgrade, Autumn 2013 from European Federation of Journalists
- French proposed study of connected television by the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Media and Information Society
- "I don't speak on behalf of..." Agile Movements, Fluid Politics and the new Democratic Bargain" by Ren Reynolds
- "Community media and social media: active citizenship in a changing media environment”, by CMFE (Community Media Forum Europe)
- Democracy, freedom and regulation in the digital environment Reflections on the possible issues to be discussed during the Belgrade conference on media and information society (Bulgaria)
- Open Internet Standards for Human Rights: An open, global and interoperable Internet as a backbone for human rights and freedom of expression Proposal by the Internet Society
- Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association online is crucial for modern democracies – Thomas Schneider (Switzerland)
- The power of the screen - Enhancing democracy and freedoms while fulfilling responsibilities in the online environment – Thomas Schneider (Switzerland)
Following the decision of the Committee of Ministers on 16 March 2022 the Russian Federation is no longer a member of the Council of Europe. The website will be updated as soon as possible to take account of this development.
"Everyone has the right to freedom of expression"
Art. 10 European Convention on Human Rights
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