News (2017)
Tender for the web content management services
Call for tender
Invitation to tender for the web content management services of the Information Society Department of the Council of Europe for the period 2018-2019. If you intend to participate you are expected to fill in the attached document and send it by 15th of January 2018. See more here.
“Promoting freedom, professionalism and pluralism of the media” And “Protecting internet freedom through legislation and arrangements for Multi-stakeholder dialogue”
Closing Event of the European Union and the Council of Europe Joint Projects
On 17 December 2017, the Closing Event of the EU/CoE Joint Projects “Promoting freedom, professionalism and pluralism of the media” and “Protecting internet freedom through legislation and arrangements for multi-stakeholder dialogue” (both part of the EU/CoE Joint Programme “Partnership for Good...
Regional Conference on Self-regulation
Within the framework of the joint CoE/EU Project “Promote Professional and Responsible Journalism by Supporting Regional Network of Self-regulatory Bodies” the Council of Europe organised on 15-16 December 2017 a Regional Conference on Self-regulation in Tbilisi, Georgia. Representatives of...
IGF 2017: Internet intermediaries – shared commitments and corporate responsibility
On 18 December 2017 the Council of Europe is organising an event during the Internet Governance Forum in Geneva, titled Open Forum: Internet intermediaries – shared commitments and corporate responsibility. The open forum will focus on dialogue with internet intermediaries concerning protection...
Lecture at the Law Faculty "Iustinianus Primus" on Media law in the context of FoE and CoE standards
On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Journalism studies department at the Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus” an event dedicated to human rights and in particular the freedom of expression was organised by the Faculty. For this event, the Council of Europe extended its support to the...
Significant achievements for CDMSI 2016-2017 mandate
The Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) held its 13th and last meeting under the current mandate from 5 to 8 December 2017 in Strasbourg. It ends its 2016-2017 mandate with two draft recommendations and three studies on topical and important issues: a draft recommendation...
Conference on Media education in Azerbaijani universities in Baku
A conference on Media education in Azerbaijani universities within the PGG Joint EU/CoE Project on Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Azerbaijan took place on 7 December 2017 in Baku. The conference was organized in close cooperation with the Azerbaijani Press Council and Journalism...
Regional Conference on Internet Governance and Digital Agenda, Chisinau, 6-7 December
The role of the Council of Europe with respect to Human Rights on the internet and the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet Governance in Eastern Partnership countries were among the topics of the Regional Conference on Internet Governance and Digital Agenda organised by the Council of Europe...
Training for judges on balancing between the freedom of expression and the right to privacy
Within the scope of the Joint Project “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX)” co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, a two day training for judges was organised on 28-29...
Training sessions on media coverage of elections and challenges of local democracy
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) and the Council of Europe are organising training sessions for Tunisian journalists on media coverage of the upcoming local elections in Tunisia. The SNJT and the Council of Europe have joined forces to help Tunisian journalists address the...
Conference on Media and Migration awareness, Hamburg 23-25 November 2017
Representatives of the Council of Europe participated in the CMMA2017: Conference on Media and Migration, organised by the Refugee Radio Network. Participants from various backgrounds, including European journalists and members of the Community Media Forum Europe discussed the role played by...
Workshop on New media platforms and copyright
Within the scope of the Joint Project “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX)”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, an activity was organised on 20 November 2017 under the...
Council of Europe partners with leading technology companies to promote respect for human rights
The Council of Europe will strengthen its co-operation with the private sector in order to promote an open and safe internet, where human rights, democracy, and the rule of law are respected. The companies are Apple, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Kaspersky Lab, Orange and...
Tackling disinformation in the global media environment – new Council of Europe report
A report published today by the Council of Europe examines the way in which dis-information campaigns have become widespread and, heavily relying on social media, contribute to a global media environment of information disorder. Whilst acknowledging that the direct and indirect impacts of...
5th Conference of francophone media regulators
Lejla Dervisagic, head of the Media and Internet Governance Cooperation Programme has presented Council of Europe achievements and priorities at the 5th Conference of francophone media regulators (REFRAM). Held on 24-25 October 2017 in Geneva, the conference brought together 63 participants,...
Training sessions on freedom of expression and freedom of the media for the Ministry of Culture and Communication of Morocco
The Council of Europe and the Department of Communication of the Ministry of Culture and Communication of Morocco organised several training sessions on freedom of expression and freedom of the media in aid of government officers of the Ministry. This training cycle was held in the premises of...
Practical seminar for Ukrainian journalists working in the conflict zones
Four day practical seminar “Safety of journalists who work in the conflict zones” was organised on 20-23 October 2017 in Kyiv region with the support of the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening freedom of the media and establishing a Public broadcasting system in Ukraine” in partnership with...
Council of Europe’s international conference on safety of journalists and crimes against freedom of expression in Kyiv
International conference “Counteracting threats to life and safety of journalists. Effective investigations into crimes against freedom of expression” took place on 19 October 2017 in Kyiv (Ukraine) in the framework of the Council of Europe project “Strengthening freedom of the media and...
Guidelines on Safeguarding Privacy in the Media
Guidelines on Safeguarding Privacy in the Media were developed to help the Georgian Data Protection Authority to answer questions asked by journalists and press professionals. A training seminar was organised on 7 and 8 July 2017 in Kachreti with 25 professionals who had the opportunity to ask...
Azerbaijani judge candidates trained on Council of Europe standards on freedom of expression
Two half-day training sessions on some aspects of freedom of expression for judge candidates undergoing the preparatory training phase of the judicial selection process at the Academy of Justice of Azerbaijan took place on 11 October 2017 in Baku. The training sessions provided a useful...
12th meeting of the Bureau of the CDMSI
On 19 and 20 October, the Bureau of the CDMSI met in Strasbourg to prepare the 13th plenary meeting of the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (5-8 December) . It made comments on two draft recommendations, respectively on the topics of internet intermediaries and of media...
The roles and responsibilities of internet intermediaries
The Conference in Vienna on 13 October, entitled “The roles and responsibilities of internet intermediaries”, has gathered genuinely multi-stakeholder audience with representatives of all key stakeholder groups (governments, businesses, NGOs and the academic community) being present and actively...
Murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia
Following the violent death of a Maltese investigative journalist, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, has stated: “I am appalled by the brutal death of Maltese journalist and blogger Ms Daphne Caruana Galizia, in a car bombing yesterday in Malta. As expressed by the Prime Minister of...
The role of internet intermediaries as gatekeepers to freedom of expression – Conference in Vienna
The role and responsibilities of internet intermediaries, which critically influence the way we receive and impart information in the digital age, will be the focus of a conference on internet freedom, organized by the OSCE and the Council of Europe in Vienna on Friday 13 October. The function of...
46th European Platform of Regulatory Authorities
Ms Silvia Grundmann, Head of the Media and Internet Division of the Council of Europe, presented the work of the Information Society Department of the Council of Europe during the 46th EPRA (European Platform of Regulatory Authorities) meeting which took place on 11-13 October 2017 in Vienna. The...
Training for judges and prosecutors on balancing exercise on defamation cases
The Academy of Justice in close cooperation with Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South East-Europe (JUFREX) project, organised a two-day training on balancing exercise on defamation cases. This training helped participants to understand the legal nature of...
ECHR: Defamation proceedings violated journalist’s and publisher’s right to freedom of expression
The case of Novaya Gazeta and Milashina v. Russia (application no. 45083/06) concerned defamation proceedings against an editorial house and a journalist following the publication of two articles concerning the sinking of the Russian Navy’s nuclear cruise missile submarine “Kursk” in the Barents...
Training on the “Limits of the Freedom of Expression – hate speech”
Within the scope of the Joint Project “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX)” co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, a two day event on “Limits of the Freedom of Expression –...
Training for lawyers “Limits of Protected Speech”
Under the Joint Project “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX)” co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, a training session for local lawyers took place on 30 September 2017 in...
4th meeting of MSI-MED
The experts of the MSI-MED held their 4th meeting in Strasbourg on 20-21 September 2017. They discussed three documents: a draft recommendation on media pluralism and transparency of media ownership, a feasibility study on the use of internet in elections and a feasibility study on gender...