Media in all its forms shapes our daily lives more than ever – widely distributed across various, increasingly online platforms, it impacts the way we work and relax, how we inform and educate ourselves, how we engage in civic participation and social life. It seems thus more decisive than ever for all of us to know more about media just like about the food we eat: where it comes from, how it is produced, who sells it, and what the legal benchmarks are. In the quest for a diet of accurate and reliable news, media literacy is often considered the ‘silver bullet’ in the fight against online disinformation and practically all evil in our information space. But is that really the case? And, if so, why and how exactly?

On the occasion of the European Week of Media Literacy, the Council of Europe and Reporters Without Borders invite to a conference:

Media Pluralism – how can we deliver?

We will discuss both academic and regulatory angles to look at media literacy and provide a bridge between the two. What are the applicable standards and where are the main challenges for their implementation? How can evidence based research better inform policy making in this domain? What roles do policymakers, regulators and scholars play?

The conference will provide an insight into updated standards on media pluralism, ownership and literacy included in the Council of Europe’s Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)1 on media pluralism and transparency of media ownership, and ideas for embedding those standards into practice.

Reaching beyond Europe, the conference will focus on the Southern Neighbourhood in particular and provide an ‘East-meets-West’ platform for exchange.

Venue: Strasbourg, Council of Europe, Agora building, Room G02. We'll be working in English and French with translation available. Dates: 19 March – upon invitation, 20 March – free entry.

19-20 March 2019 Save the date and see you in Strasbourg!